Into The Woods We Go
by MasterSkorpius
Summary: Everything that exists can be empirically studied. Including all kinds of slippery, shady, magical creatures that dwell among the trees in the dead of night. At least that's what the young researcher from the capital thinks about the mysterious world she happened to live in. (Fantasy AU)
1. 1: The Castle of Disappointment

1\. The Castle of Disappointment

Having your butt battered by the saddle after a week long journey wasn't the best feeling in the world. The sunny weather wasn't really comforting either, as it was making the horses awfully sweaty and smelly.

The young researcher couldn't say that she hated all of it, though. After all, she was waiting for such an expedition all of her career. Finding a sponsor that was wealthy and powerful enough to fund and organize it took over a year. A year filled with walking from noble to noble, attending boring dances and nearly begging for money and support.

Everything worked out in the end, but the fact that her sponsor basically expected an entertaining read from her future publication was pretty depressing. They weren't interested in biology and behaviour of wild and magical beasts or dying customs and traditions of simpletons living close to said beasts' dwellings - they wanted a fascinating story about a dangerous journey. Preferably in the form of a diary. With a lot of fiction in it.

But the fat sack of gold in her travel bag and all those strings that were pulled to make this expedition possible was enough to make her not think about the ignorance of said nobles.

She also got a handful of different permits allowing her to travel freely through the country and a pair of knights in shining, blue and silver armour as protection. She knew, though, that even warriors like these two won't be able to keep her completely safe. Bandit and monster attacks were still pretty frequent and there was no way that two guards and her pathetic sword skills would suffice.

Because of that, the young researcher was dressed like a man - dark green trousers, a white-ish shirt and really fine cavalry boots. With her not-that-girly face and messy hair that was shaped like a triangle, she could easily pass for a young, male student.

In the event of an assault by bandits, this attire would spare her some unpleasant and potentially traumatic experiences. Ones that she would rather die than go through.

Fortunately, there was only a few hours of road ahead of them, according to the map and the guards' knowledge at least. The researcher was thanking the Diamonds for that - the journey was starting to get unbearable. Horsehead, lone trees and a lot of fields with tiny villages in the distance were only things to look at. Sometimes a single cloud joined this company, trying to look like something interesting, a dragon, a knight, a pillow. There was even one that was dark and looked like a little castle. It was hanging low in the sky, far on the horizon.

Wait…

The young woman squinted a bit. It wasn't a cloud. It was their destination! She couldn't believe her eyes. They were already that close! The researcher was so joyful that she hurried her horse a little.

It turned out that the guards were a bit off with their map-reading. They arrived at their destination in something around half of an hour. A sign of the biggest village they have seen in days welcomed them.

There were at least fifteen houses with straw roofs, four barn-like buildings and over a dozen of smaller constructions. All of them were greyish, kind of dirty and were focused around a muddy square with a crudely built well.

On the other side of the village they were faced with a large mass of water. It was undeniable, based on its size, that they had stumbled across the sea.

Calm, dark blue and littered with buoys marking the placement of fishermen's nets. The travellers could smell the powerful aroma of slightly stale fish overpowering every other awful scent of a human settlement.

From the road leading into the village, there was a wide path towards the castle that was standing on a hill and throwing a shadow on the settlement underneath. A pretty high brick wall was encircling the castle's area. The only visible way through it was a big, wooden gate.

\- Oi! Who are you? - a voice from the top of the wall asked when the travellers got near - You aren't from around here... What do you want? - the voice was a bit nervous. Probably because of the guards' presence.

\- We want to speak with the baron - one of the guards lifted the visor of his helmet - Don't be concerned. We are peaceful.

The disembodied voice didn't answer, but some shouting could be heard from behind the walls. After a few minutes, the gate slowly opened showing the main building of the castle and a pretty big, fairly empty place.

The travellers entered the castle area. Instantly, they felt dozens of eyes on themselves. Warriors, both male and female, all wearing orange and yellow were sitting all over the place. It was quite unnerving to see so many people with rough faces, unfriendly eyes and weapons at the ready.

Fortunately, they didn't need to wait too long in the unpleasant atmosphere. Soon after entering the castle the big wooden door of the main building swung open and a big frame of the baron marched out and down the wooden stairs.

The young researcher was a bit startled. She didn't expect what she was seeing right now. It turned out that the baron was, in fact, the baroness. Woman of a monstrous size. A mountain of muscle with a magnificent mane of nearly white hair. She was wearing a breastplate and a long orange jacket, most likely padded with leather. A two handed sword on her hip, an awful scar going from her jawbone to her ear and an unfriendly glance made her look like someone you wouldn't want to anger.

\- "Blue Court guardsmen" - the baroness' voice was quite unpleasant. It sounded a bit like a snarling, angry animal - "Fancy armour you have. Aren't you afraid it would get dirty? What do you want?"

One of the guards got off the horse and pulled something from his saddlebag and then turned towards the giant woman.

\- "Baroness" - he bowed and handed her a letter in a sealed envelope.

She took it after a second and looked at the symbol imprinted on the wax seal with a clearly unhappy expression. She then crushed the seal, opened the letter and quickly read through it. And then she laughed. In the researcher's opinion, way too loudly.

\- "A-are you going to accept?" - asked the knight, clearly confused.

\- "I'm kinda obligated to" - the baroness said without even a slight trace of humour in her voice - "And the payment?"

\- "In gold, exactly the amount that was mentioned in the letter" - the guard answered and handed her a pretty big bag. A lot bigger than the one the researcher had.

The knight bowed his head once again and got back on his horse. He nodded to his companion and they just turned their horses around and headed back, leaving a confused scientist with the baroness and her scary underlings.

Now, being in the centre of attention, the young woman got off her horse and stood in front of her host. She needed to look up - she was pretty short normally but compared to the massive baroness she looked like a little kid.

\- "Um... Hello, baroness... eee... I'm honoured that I can meet you" - the researcher said trying to decide on how to address the giant noble.

\- "Welcome in my castle, kiddo" - she smiled widely. It made her look a lot creepier than before - "I'm Jasper. Probably no one told you that. What's your name?"

\- "P-peridot."

\- "Great. Now take your crap and follow me. We need to find a place for you" - she said with bored, a little-irritated voice. Then she looked at the nearest warrior and barked an order - "Get her horse and put it in the stable!"

After that, she slowly turned around and started walking towards the wooden stairs leading to the castle's main building's doors. Peridot quickly collected her things and followed her host. A minute later they were inside.

The interior of the castle was pretty dark. Small windows were covered by heavy, dark orange coloured curtains. The candles and the fire blazing in the fireplace were only sources of light. All the furniture was made of dark wood and the walls were decorated with tapestries and various hunting trophies. A lot of them were made from dead monsters.

\- "Those are from local forests?" - she asked looking at a head of a troll mounted on the wall. Someone stuck a pipe between his teeth.

\- "Of course" - the baroness said pridefully - "We are hunting the monsters to make the region safe and clean! This one I have slain myself."

\- "Yeah... um... Great job" - the researcher hoped that she will be able to find some creatures to research while they are alive. Only bright side of the dead monsters was an occasion to draw them without the risk of getting eaten.

Jasper, content with the compliment, showed the smaller woman stairs to the upper floor. There, she had led her to one of the rooms hidden behind wooden doors. It was pretty small and only a bit lighter than the big room downstairs. It was equipped with a quite simple, but comfortable looking bed and a desk with few old pieces of paper lying on it. The only problem was the smell. A smell of a damp rag that was wet for last ten years.

\- "It's all yours" - Jasper gestured towards the room and lightly pushed the researcher inside - "Get comfortable. And remember about the dinner. You are eating with us."

With that, the monstrous baroness left. She just marched off towards the stairs and disappeared downstairs.

Left alone, Peridot dropped her stuff on the floor by the bed. With discontent, she found out that the room was deprived of a wardrobe. Good thing that she didn't pack a lot of clothes. It would quickly become messy there.

Speaking of messy... The young researcher looked through the bedding. She didn't find any bugs, which was good. She also sniffed every pillow and stated that the bed wasn't the source of the smell.

At least not the top of the bed.

She took a step back and kneeled down on the wooden floor. Leaning on the bed, she looked under it. There was a lot of dust but nothing that could emit such an odour.

The desk was also free of any smell-emitting things but she made a mental note to get rid of the old papers. Just in case.

\- "It seems, that I would need to live with it" - she muttered to herself and fell on the bed. It was nice to finally rest after riding a horse for such a long time. To stretch the bones.

Someone's scream woke her up. Peridot immediately jumped up and nearly fell out of the bed. Still a bit drowsy, she stood up, slowly walked towards the door and got out of the room. The corridor was filled with the mouth-watering aroma of a roast.

\- "Dinner! Come on you filthy horsefuckers! Come on before someone would eat everything!" - someone screamed once again. The scream was coming from downstairs and didn't sound like anyone the young researcher knew. Not like she knew a lot of people here.

Feeling her stomach rumble, Peridot went down the stairs and soon was back in the big, candlelit room with a big table in the centre. The table was set with silverware looking cutlery and loads of food. There were surprising amounts of meat, a lot of fish and some miserable vegetables which made the scientist pretty happy - she hadn't have eaten meat in ages.

She sat down on one of the free chairs and only now looked around the table. At the top of it sat the baroness, already biting into a huge piece of roasted meat. Beside her, five women sat at the table. All of them had dark skin and black, unbelievably curly hair. They were significantly shorter and smaller than Jasper but still were noticeably muscular. It was obvious that they all were from the south. People from the south were a pretty unusual sight and Peridot had no idea why there were five of them here so she started to closely analyse them.

The one sitting closest to her, on her left, had a pretty friendly face. Her red and orange coloured clothing uncovered her navel which was decorated with golden jewellery.

Next to her, a really confused woman was seated. Her outfit vaguely resembled the one her neighbour had. Her face, though, made the researcher think that she was at least a bit mentally challenged.

The one on the other side of the table, right in front of the young scientist, was a bit creepy. She had an eyepatch and really intelligent look. There was visible anger in her behaviour.

But her anger was nothing compared to what the next woman was expressing with her entire body. She was growling and violently biting a chicken's leg. Her arms' muscles were significantly bigger than those of the rest of southern women.

The last one of them acted rather quiet and looked focused. She was wearing small, yellow glasses. She seemed to be a leader of the bunch. Probably the baroness' right hand.

\- "Don't stare like that" - Peridot nearly jumped when she heard a husky voice of the one-eyed woman - "Eat or your food will get cold" - her eye was clearly threatening the young researcher.

\- "Come on, Eyeball" - the friendly-faced one spoke up - "Don't be rude to him. He's probably just curious and shy" - she then turned towards the scientist - "You are the guest that arrived earlier today, right? What are you doing in our little castle?" - she asked sweetly.

\- "Right!" - the feral-looking one jerked her head towards Peridot, spitting out some of her food - "What do you want here?"

\- "Army! Be civil" - Jasper snarled. The southern woman imminently calmed down.

\- "I've come here to research monsters and local folklore" - the scientist finally answered and blushed a little when pretty much everybody started laughing.

\- "We can bring you a drowner's carcass!" - Army guffawed - "Or some imp's head!"

\- "Where are you from?" - the one with glasses addressed the guest.

\- "I was born and raised in Yellow Capital, but I'm currently living in Blue Capital. Mainly because I was studying there" - Peridot answered. She probably said this line over a thousand times in her life.

\- "A smartypants we have here" - Eyeball grinned.

\- "Can you ask him what he studied, Doc?" - the confused one looked at the one with glasses with pleading eyes.

\- "You can ask him yourself, Leggy" - Doc said in rather bored voice. The scientist started to wonder from where this name come from. The rest of the names at least had sense.

\- "I'm too shy..." - Leggy said quietly.

\- "I studied biology" - Peridot said making the shy woman blush.

After that, the conversation pretty much died. The young researcher was kinda relieved, though. She could finally eat something in peace. Unfortunately, the best bits were already eaten and most of the leftover food was lukewarm.

But Peridot was really hungry and ate as much as she could. With her stomach full, she sat more comfortably and watched the staff clean up after the dinner. It was horribly boring.

Because of that, her gaze quickly shifted towards the monster heads mounted on the wall. She didn't really have any plans for the evening so she decided to go upstairs for her sketchbook and draw some monster ugly faces.

Everybody left before she was back downstairs. It was a great situation - nobody to bother her, nobody to ask stupid things and nobody glaring at her for whatever reason. She could just sit down and peacefully draw a troll's noggin.

And all the drawing went well - in something that felt like a little more than two hours she managed to sketch five different heads. Unfortunately, she fell asleep in the middle of drawing the sixth one. With her face on the wooden table and her hands hanging under it. Her sketchbook was lying right and her the piece of charcoal that she was using for drawing was lost somewhere on the floor.

While the young scientist was sleeping, the baroness had come back. The giant woman took off her leather riding gloves and slammed them on the table when walking by the sleeping girl.

\- "Don't sleep! Someone will rob you!" - Jasper laughed as the Peridot jumped up like a frightened animal.

The researcher looked at her host with a mixture of fear and anger. She wiped off a small stream of saliva from her mouth with a sleeve of her shirt. After that, her gaze fell on her sketchbook and she groaned with irritation. Someone turned its page and crudely drew a phallic shape.

Peridot snatched the page away and looked at the baroness who was sitting on her chair, with her legs on the table. Her boots were covered with dust and dried mud. She didn't look like someone who would make that sort of a joke. She would probably just bash her with the sketchbook for giggles.

All this thinking about the monstrous woman made her realise that she doesn't know anything about expeditions into the forest. She wouldn't be able to research a lot by sitting on her butt and drawing dead creatures after all.

\- "Um... Sorry" - she stood up and approached Jasper - "When would I be able to go to the forest? I would like to start my research..."

\- "You just arrived!" - the baroness said. She tried to smile but it turned out extremely fake - "Why won't you just stay in the castle for some time? You know... Rest..."

\- "I would like to start my research as soon as possible" - Peridot repeated - "I waited for an opportunity like that for years! I can't just sit and wait when I'm so close to fulfilling my dream!"

The smile immediately disappeared from Jasper's face.

\- "Listen here you little fucker" - she snarled - "I don't care about some smarty pants' dreams. I'm obligated to make sure that you are in one piece but I don't have enough manpower to give you guards that would keep your sorry ass safe in the woods. We are in the middle of monster purging and searching for a really important person" - she sent a hostile look towards the short researcher - "We don't need someone like you roaming around freely. Those dumb peasants are enough."

\- "But..."

\- "No" - baroness said with a serious tone - "I can throw you into the dungeon. You will be safe there. You still have a choice, though, so don't be stupid."

Peridot clenched her fists and turned around without a word. She snatched her sketchbook and marched up the stairs and into her room, feeling like a rebellious teenager.

The situation was kinda crappy. She needed to do something about it. All the time she spent on begging for expedition money would be lost if she didn't.

The first thing that has come to her mind was to run. To sneak out and try to go to the forest alone. She educated herself about survival in the woods enough to survive.

But there was one, big problem. And several smaller ones. Jasper and her soldiers in other words. They will stop her before she would be able to even get out of the main building. Then they will throw her into dark, dank dungeon and feed her with the worst leftovers from the dinner.

Then, suddenly, a small ray of hope appeared. From downstairs a joyful cry and clanging of glass could be heard. Castle dwellers started a party.

Peridot calmed down and slowly got out of the room, trying to not make any sound. She sat near the top of the stairs and started listening. They were drinking and laughing and singing. Soon they will be so drunk that they will fall under the table.

The young scientist smiled a bit and went back to her room. She took her travelling bag and started to pack her previously unpacked things and secure them from getting wet with a piece of leather. While doing that, she checked her belongings - some clothes, notebooks, sketchbooks, a supply of charcoal, rations for two days. And some other, less significant things. She also had a sword. Fairly short but very sharp and pretty well-made blade. Unfortunately, she forgot to take it to the castle. Hopefully, it was still securely attached to her horse's saddle. Recovering it will be a quite complicated task but a necessary one. Necessary for her survival in the woods.

Having everything packed, she took her bag and went back to her spot on the stairs after quietly closing the doors to her room on the way. She sat there for several minutes and as the party didn't seem to be ending anytime soon, she brought out her previously used sketchbook and started to closely examine her sketches. She analysed every feature of the monsters' heads, trying to figure out how they worked and for what were they used.

Surprisingly, it took her something around two hours and created a tonne of ideas and data to remember.

In the meantime, the voices from downstairs died down. The researcher packed her sketchbook, stood up and slowly went down the stairs. She almost fell all the way down when she heard a loud snore.

Everyone downstairs was asleep, with faces on the table or lying on the floor. A heavy stench of alcohol and sweaty bodies was in the air. The baroness was sleeping in her chair, taking as much space as she could. She was still holding a half-empty bottle in her hand.

Peridot took a deep breath and started moving towards the door. She took a step after step, as lightly as she could, constantly looking at faces of the sleeping warriors to make sure that they are actually asleep. She was getting really stressed out - her heart was pounding in her chest like a hammer and she just wanted to run away. Preferably away from the castle.

But, unfortunately, she couldn't. She needed to carefully manoeuvre through the room to avoid random bottles and other pieces of tableware. She needed to step over Army who was lying on the floor and hugging table leg. The small, dark skinned woman snarled in her sleep. The young researcher could smell her breath and it wasn't pleasant.

When she finally made it to the door, the anxiety didn't leave her. She was anxious about something else, though. Will the door open? Is the main gate unlocked? What about all those people that she saw when she arrived?

Why didn't she thought about all of it earlier?

It was too late to turn back, though. And what is the worst thing they could do to her? They can't hurt her. Jasper herself said so.

With that small bit of confidence, she pressed the door handle and winced when it creaked horribly.

Cursing whoever didn't take proper care of the handle and the hinges, she looked back at the table. The drunken company was as peaceful as before. Peridot breathed a sigh of relief and started to slowly open the door while still looking at the sleeping warriors.

The young researcher jumped outside right after opening the door enough to fit between them and the door frame. She closed the entrance and stood still for a while, waiting for someone to scream at her. When nothing like that happened, she turned around and quickly scanned her surroundings.

From the top of the wooden staircase, she could see pretty much the entire courtyard. A quite big place, a field of beaten ground, with only two buildings other than the castle. One of them was lightened up and a happy melody was coming from it. The other one must have been the stables. Guards were nowhere to be found.

That gave Peridot a lot of confidence. She nearly ran down the stairs and immediately headed towards the stables. The gate was, thankfully, unlocked so nothing stopped the scientist from getting in.

Inside of the building was pretty standard. It was divided into something around twenty boxes. Most of them were occupied by horses. Hay was lying everywhere.

Peridot quietly, trying to not wake up the horses, started to search for the one belonging to her. She found her mount pretty quickly. Then she crawled under the wooden gate of the box and carefully unfastened her sword from the saddle. Its hilt was pretty simple, same for the sheath. The grip was black and the pommel was shaped like a diamond. She hanged the sheath on her belt and quietly get out of the stables. She didn't even think about taking her horse to the forest. She wasn't the greatest rider and she would probably lose the animal pretty quickly.

Now, the main gate was the last thing standing in her way. It may turn out to be quite difficult to go through because - logically thinking - the main gate should be guarded and closed for the night. The young scientist already knew that the guards had apparently better things to do than freezing their asses while being on guard. But did they lock the gate? Or were they so arrogant that they left it open?

To Peridot's disbelief, they were.

Stupid and arrogant enough to leave their doors open and go drinking. Perhaps maybe they were sure that no one would attack them. They probably scared locals enough to make them completely obedient and killed off every bandit around.

But the young scientist didn't tidy up her mind with the idiocy of the baroness and her soldiers for too long. She was outside. She left the castle behind.

Peridot ran into the night. Into the dark forest.

* * *

 **And so it begins... Hope you liked the first chapter of "into the woods we go". It's gonna be only darker from here. I may or may not upgrade the rating of this story from T to M later on. Also, watch out - I won't put any specific content warnings in front of the chapters because I think it's pretty much like a spoiler.**

 **I want to thank my beta readers who kinda left after reading first two chapters (or less): arielisfishy, Petaltoaflower, kurumizofangirl and novice novel writer. I also want to really thank the beta reader that decided to stick with me for another story - G. M. Keys !**

 **~MS**


	2. 2: Of Monster and Men

2\. Of Monster and Men

\- "Ugh..." - Jasper slowly opened her eyes. Her head was like a nest full of very angry hornets. She brought the bottle she coincidentally had in her hand to her mouth and drank from it. The colourless liquid burned her throat but definitely made her feel better. At least for now.

She scanned the room with her eyes and chuckled at her fallen comrades. They were still sleeping peacefully in different positions all over the place. The baroness stood up and started to slowly walk towards the stairs, the bottle still in her hand. She was staggering a bit.

\- "Periiidooot!" - she called after getting to the top of the stairs - "R you aslp you little fuck?" - she asked loudly and knocked on the door few times - "Come on! Drink with us!"

When she didn't get any answers, she decided to open the door. It took her a lot more time than she would want. After getting inside, she was already pretty angry but when she found out that the young researcher is absent, her face went red and the unfinished bottle landed on a wall.

\- "Dooooooooooooc!" - she yelled angrily. Some sudden noises came from downstairs - "Gather boys! We are going on a hunt!"

* * *

It was dark and cold and wet. Creepy noises were coming from behind every tree and from every little bush. The treetops were covering the sky and blocking the light from the moon and the stars.

Peridot was walking slowly down the path, her sword in her trembling hands. She was starting to regret her decision. The idea of finding a monster was suddenly a lot more terrifying than it was back in the castle. Everything was scary and dangerous and she really wanted to go back to safety.

But her stubbornness won after a moment and she continued her slow march through the woods. She even tried to observe her surroundings without thinking about being mauled and eaten.

She quickly noticed a lot of pretty fresh traces of horseshoes. Baroness and her people must have been visiting the forest pretty frequently.

After a while, the young researcher found an old signpost. It was made out of stone and was so eroded and covered with so much moss that it was impossible to read anything that was written on it. That was pretty unfortunate - knowledge about where the path was going could be useful.

Byt Peridot was more and more confident with every minute and she quickly stopped caring about where she was going. Especially after she found some peculiar traces in the mud. They looked human but were a bit different and were definitely made by someone who was barefoot.

The scientist decided to follow them and did so for next ten minutes. She was so absorbed by it that she didn't look around and when the footprints turned away from the path and disappeared, she found herself completely lost. Everything looked unfamiliar. On top of that, she found out that she is standing several dozen feet from a lake.

She couldn't take a closer look, though, because something caught her attention. A noise. Not very loud, but getting louder with every second. Like it was drawing near. It sounded like horses in gallop...

Peridot suddenly got really pale. She dashed towards the reed that was growing near the waterside and jumped in.

It turned out to not be such a great idea as the reed was growing in water and the young scientist submerged, instantly becoming completely soaked. Fortunately, the water wasn't deep.

Yet it was pretty cold which really startled the researcher. She flapped like - ironically - a fish out of the water, trying to get some air in her lungs and escape the cold, wet trap. She needed a moment to collect herself and calm down. It was already too late to change her hiding spot, so she just accepted her fate and cautiously looked through the reed.

She didn't need to wait too long. Riders appeared mere seconds after she peeked out of her hiding. There were six of them. Peridot couldn't recognise all except one - a dark-skinned woman with spectacles. She stopped her horse, jumped down and started to look around.

\- "What is it, boss?" - asked one of the soldiers.

\- "I think I heard something... Like a splash..." - she said while scanning the lake with her gaze.

\- "Maybe drowners?" - another soldier suggested. He had a funny, hat-like helmet and weird accent.

\- "Maybe..." - Doc looked around one more time and went back to her horse - "We will come back here later and take care of this" - she shouted - "Now let's go before this little shit will escape further away!"

A few seconds later, the riders were gone and the young researcher could finally take a deep breath. She thought she will pass out in there. 'A drowner?' she thought 'Everyone knows that drowners don't just splash around. I'm lucky they are so stupid...'. But then, she suddenly froze in place. Drowners don't make a sound in water. She was kneeling in water. In a lake in the middle of dark, monster-infested forest.

She slowly stood up, her clothes dripping with water. She already made a lot of noise. Now she needed to get out of the water as fast as she could, as quiet as she could. And then quickly move away from the lake, because drowners could also walk on dry ground.

But it turned out that she ran out of luck. Before she could make even a single step, something snatched her foot and started to drag her into the deep waters. She started kicking with her free leg, but soon the water enveloped her. In the hazy liquid, she could see a humanoid figure with fins and unnaturally big, slightly glowing eyes.

Frightened to death, Peridot tried to wiggle out of her boot or pull the sword out of the sheath but everything was failing and she was quickly losing breath.

When she was sure that her death is inevitable something suddenly happened. Water all around her and the monster started to move. Seconds later a significant portion of the lake geysered upwards taking both the prey and the predator with itself.

Confused scientist felt her foot being released and then cool air moving fast around her body. This only took a moment and soon she hit the surface of the lake and went underwater once again. This time, though, she could quickly resurface because nothing held her down. Except for her battered body that is.

The drowner was still in the air, surrounded by a bubble of water. It was moving around furiously, trying to get out. Its movement only intensified after the bubble started to get smaller and smaller. Soon the monster stopped and after few seconds his eyes burst out with blood. The motionless body and all the water fell down into the lake.

Peridot wouldn't dare to move. What creature could do something like that? She had some ideas but...

Before she could properly analyse the situation, something popped out of the water right in front of her.

It had blue hair, pale blue skin and blue clothes. It was looking curiously at the young researcher with its deep blue eyes. Peridot could easily tell that it was a water nymph. The appearance of a human female, water powers - everything was there.

The scientist opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by the nymph grabbing her by her drenched shirt and smacking its lips into hers. The rough kiss lingered for a bit and, for some reason, made her throat tingle a bit. Then, the monster backed off and held its index finger to its mouth.

\- "Shhhhh" - it said and looked around with a frightened expression. Then it grabbed Peridot once again and pulled her underwater.

The hazy water surrounded her again but this time she didn't have any problems with breathing. Somehow she was able to get oxygen straight from the water. Which didn't seem to be possible. 'Nymph magic' she concluded.

The lake soon turned out to be much larger than it seemed when viewed from its coast. It even had an underwater cave. Cave, towards which the researcher was pulled. To her great discomfort at that. But at this point, she didn't even try to free herself from monster's grasp. She was more scared of getting lost and drowning than having to deal with a wild creature that saved her life.

The cave was really small - just a short corridor made of stone that was leading straight to the surface. Moonlight was coming in from the entrance and made the nymph look even paler when they finally get out of the water.

Peridot didn't even have a chance to look around because when she crawled on a piece of rock, she immediately started to suffocate. A violent coughing fit that followed the feeling of having your throat stuffed with dirt shook her body. She rose herself on all fours and after few seconds coughed up some blood and a lump of living tissue.

A red splatter on a rough stone surface was the last thing she has seen before passing out.

* * *

Waking up naked and wrapped up in a warm, slightly smelly and really fluffy fabric was completely new and really weird for Peridot. She slowly looked around, examining her surroundings and trying to remember why her mouth tasted like blood. She was in some kind of rocky place. There was a small pool of water in the middle and trace amounts of plants growing from cracks in the stone.

Then her gaze fell on a pale, blue-haired creature sitting few meters away from her and she remembered everything.

For a long moment, the young scientist was staring at the nymph. It didn't move from its sitting position, its knees under its chin. She seemed sad and irritated.

The researcher grabbed the fabric - a piece of fur probably - and trying not to bare herself moved towards the monster. It reacted immediately by picking up Peridot's sword and pointing the blade towards her. Human instantly stopped and backed away.

\- "Don't move" - the monster said and put the sword down with a clang. Its voice was feminine and pretty angry - "You are one of them, aren't you?"

\- "What?" - Peridot had no idea what the monster was talking about.

\- "You are one of the beast-woman servants" - it hissed with hatred.

\- "Jasper? I'm not! I have nothing to do with her!"

\- "Liar!" - the nymph screamed and stood up - "You've come to the forest to hunt me!" - following its hand, the water from the little pool raised and shaped itself into a fist - "You smell like her!"

\- "I was in her castle!" - the researcher tried to back away a bit more, but found a stone wall - "Please don't hurt me..."

The nymph closed its eyes and slowly breathed out. The water fist collapsed with a splash. It got back to sitting beside a wall. It looked a bit more depressed than before.

'Or maybe "she looked"' Peridot thought. It was harder and harder for her to think about the creature as "it". It felt... wrong. Somehow.

\- "Why did you undress me?" - she asked. It was still pretty weird for her. Being covered only by a piece of fabric while sitting in front of someone. Though the thought of being undressed while unconscious was far more disturbing.

\- "Your clothes were wet" - the nymph answered after few moments - "You humans tend to easily die of being cold."

\- "Um... Thank you then..."

For Peridot, the silence that followed was unbelievably awkward. She felt nearly physical pain because she couldn't find a way to express her thoughts properly. Every idea for a conversation seemed dull, stupid or even offensive. And all this discomfort that still didn't disappear wasn't helping at all.

Finally, after solid five minutes, she decided to just start with something easy.

\- "Uh... What's your name?" - she asked carefully.

The monster didn't answer right away. For a good minute, she was just staring at the researcher with a suspicious look. Like if she was trying to guess the human's intentions.

\- "Lapis Lazuli" - she finally answered.

\- "Nice name! I'm Peridot!" - the scientist exclaimed and instantly regretted it. It sounded so obnoxious that she suddenly wanted to bite herself in the ass - "You are a nymph, aren't you?" - she asked a lot more calmly. She didn't get any audible answer, though, only another stare - "Could-Could you give me my bag back?"

Lapis, still with a pretty depressed expression on her face, reached to her left and pulled the bag from between some rocks. She didn't give it to Peridot, though. Instead, she opened it up and started to look through things gathered inside.

When she was done with checking the bag, she gave the researcher a weird look and stood up. She approached the human with the bag in hand but didn't hand it over.

\- "Who are you?" - she asked looking down at the scientist - "What are you doing in the forest?"

\- "I'm a scientist" - Peridot said, unconsciously trying to back away - "I've come to study the creatures of the forest..."

The nymph appeared to be at least a bit surprised judging by her raised eyebrow. It seemed to ask "are you serious?".

\- "Do you have a death wish?" - she asked with a note of contempt in her voice.

The young researcher honestly didn't have an answer for that. She just stared at Lapis with wide eyes for a moment. Then she said the first thing that has came to her mind.

\- "What are you doing in the forest?" - she found herself quite stressed by the close presence of the monster. Her heart was beating like crazy - "Don't water nymphs live in seas?"

The nymph instantly became even more depressed than before. Without saying a word, she dropped the bag in front of the scientist, turned around and jumped into the small pool of water, leaving Peridot completely alone.

This situation didn't really concern the young researcher. She could now freely move around the perimeter and organise her thoughts in peace.

She started with looking for her clothes. It didn't take too long - she found them lying on a top of a stone, still soaked. Apparently, she didn't sleep for that long.

Beside Peridot's clothes, the little pool and some weak plants, the place was pretty barren. The only thing that wasn't some kind of rock, was a little, one-person nest made from plants, different fabrics and pieces of leather.

The scientist decided to check that out, so she stood up and walked over there. The nest was pretty messy but there weren't any interesting items. It turned out that Lapis didn't possess a lot of things.

Having nothing to analyse inside the nest, Peridot walked back to her place and sat down. She reached for her travel bag and looked inside. Thankfully everything was dry. Somehow. Even after spending so much time in the water.

She took out her sketchbook and the charcoal. Quick sketches of Lapis as she remembered her took up good few pages. She even drew the gestures that the nymph was making while controlling the water and the shape of the water fist. After that, she wrote some of her observations in her notebook. Somewhere around the last sentences, she realised how horribly tired she is. Without putting her things back into the bag, she fell asleep.

* * *

\- "Nothing" - the baroness wanted to be sure.

\- "Nothing" - Doc said once again - "We checked the road to the old sacred grounds. He probably didn't follow the path. Also, we heard something near the lake, the one with an island."

\- "Hmm... Gotta check that later... With boats and pike poles" - Jasper thought aloud while scratching her chin - "You probably heard a drowner but it won't harm to check."

\- "This smartypants is probably dead by now" - Eyeball spoke. She was sitting on a chair near the table and trying to get rid of a little speck of dried food that got stuck to her pants - "What are we gonna do?"

The monstrous woman massaged her face with her palm and sighed deeply. She looked tired and frustrated. And smelled like a distillery.

\- "Fucking hell..." - she muttered under her breath - "Navy! Go to the village and get someone who knows the forest and can track animals. Send them to the woods. If they won't want to, say that I will put my sword through their ass."

The woman with jewellery in her navel nodded once, turned around and quickly walked out of the building leaving the angrily muttering baroness behind.

It was early morning. The sun was slowly rising and it was getting warmer and warmer with every minute. The villagers that just finished working or not yet started, should most likely spend their time at a local inn. It wasn't the most pleasant place but the southern woman was sure that she will find there someone who would be able to help her.

She walked through the courtyard, waving to a group of soldiers that greeted her. The gate was opened, behind it a road leading towards the village. Getting there took Navy a little less than ten minutes.

The inn was slightly bigger than other buildings in the village but was built pretty similarly. Thatched roof, bleached walls and wooden door and window frames. Bunches of barely standing sticks were placed as a fence in front of the building.

She walked towards the door, glancing briefly at a sign dangling over them. It had a mug full of beer and a fish drawn on it. And wasn't in the best shape. Sea weather was pretty rough after all.

On the inside, the inn was pretty dark. Only some candles and the cracks in the windows were giving any light. Attached to the wall, opposite to the door was a counter with a fat, blonde haired guy behind it. He was cleaning some mugs with a really dirty looking rag.

Rest of the main room of the inn was cluttered with tables and benches. Most of them were empty but some of the villagers were there despite how early it was.

Surprisingly the local forester was one of them. Navy never really talked to him but she knew who he was and how to approach him. She started with talking to the innkeeper, asking him for two pints of beer. A few moments later she got two big mugs and paid for them with four coins. That was a lot more than she was expected to pay. She liked to keep her relations with peasants on good terms, though.

With the beers in her hands, she went to the forester's table and sat beside him.

\- "What do you want?" - the man asked looking from the mug that just landed in front of him to the woman's dark, smiling face.

\- "That's how you greet someone who just bought you a drink?" - Navy laughed. She took a sip from her mug. The beer tasted like piss. At least to the woman, because the forester drank nearly a half of it before answering and didn't even winced.

\- "What do you want?" - he repeated his previous question. He even managed to say it in more unpleasant voice than before.

\- "Just a little favour" - she answered with a smile and took another, small sip - "Nothing a hunter as great as you wouldn't manage to do."

\- "And if I refuse?" - he asked with an angry expression.

\- "The baroness will be really sad" - the southern woman said with an innocent face - "She really cares about this."

The hidden meaning behind Navy's words was pretty obvious. The forester knew well what happens to people who make this beast of a woman upset. He even lost few friends to her rage. Back when she still had this monster... Gossiping about whatever she was doing with this disturbing creature was apparently enough to get yourself hanged.

The man sighed deeply and finished his beer. He looked at the woman with aversion. She always seemed nice but there was something weird about her. Something that made it kind of hard for some people to trust her. And there was also the fact that she worked for the baroness.

\- "What is this favour then?" - he surrendered.

\- "We need you to find a lost man" - she started to explain with a broad grin - "His name is Peridot. He is young, short and has blonde hair. He went to the forest."

\- "Alone? When? In the night?" - asked the forester wondering how someone could be so stupid.

\- "Would you find him?"

\- "Ugh... Yes..." - he answered with a pained voice - "I can look through the woods and ask the wi..." - he suddenly became silent and looked at the woman with a panicked expression. She didn't seem to react in any way.

\- "That's great!" - she exclaimed happily - "We're counting on you."

With that, she finished her beer, stood up and politely nodded towards the forester. Then she left.

The man didn't feel that stressed in a long time. He thanked the Old Gods that Navy didn't hear what he almost said. It would end in a one, big disaster.

But since it happened as it happened, the forester needed to do his job. He really didn't want to walk around the forest right now - he just got back from there - but having his own life as a payment, he didn't have much of a choice. Looking sadly at his empty mug, he stood up and put his dark green coat on. Then he took his bow and quiver full of arrows and left the building.

Soon, the high, dark trees were again surrounding him from every side. The forest smelt like wet dirt and fresh resin. He was working as a forester for twenty years and at this point, those smells were kind of boring to him. Just like the most of the things one can find in the woods. Probably the only thing that was still interesting for him in this shit hole was the witches' lair. And its inhabitants of course. Three mysterious women with inhuman powers. They were both scary and fascinating for the man and most of the villagers.

They were also his best source of information. Not only knowing the forest like their own hands but also sensing everything that was happening in it, they helped him a lot. And they will help him once more - their lair was the first place he was going to visit that day.

Surprisingly, the place wasn't that hard to get to. One just needed to go through a hidden path in the forest, go around an old oak enough times to see something change in their surroundings and finally arrive at a forest clearing with a small hut with a straw roof.

The only difficulty in this process was finding the way. It was literally impossible for everyone whom the witches didn't want to meet. Even if someone once found the hidden path, they would never find it again if the magical women said so.

Fortunately, the forester was apparently welcomed in the witches' lair and soon he found himself hiking through the hidden path. It was unusually beautiful - full of pink roses and fairly well lit.

After no more than five minutes, the forester found himself near the old oak. The tree was pretty high and had a really bulky trunk. Nearly half of it was covered with moss. Closer to the ground, between massive roots some polypores could be found.

Despite its age and size, the tree was perfectly healthy. It didn't have any parasites except the polypores and its upper branches were covered with bright green leaves.

The man visited this place few times in his life and he was impressed by this mighty plant. There was one thing that was always giving him the creeps, though - the complete lack of any fauna around the tree.

There were no animals - no birds, no deer, nothing. Even bugs avoided this area of the forest. He checked. He couldn't find even a single ant or spider.

Perhaps maybe only the humans were stupid enough to get near to this ancient oak...

Carefully watching his surroundings, the forester started to walk around the tree. From this perspective, the surrounding forest seemed to be frozen in time. No movement, no sounds.

He needed to circle the oak four times before the path appeared. One of the trees just disappeared when he wasn't looking and a path appeared in its place. He headed towards it immediately.

From there, the way was straight and easy, although a lot less pretty than the first fragment of the hidden path. There were no more roses and the sunlight wasn't able to reach it.

The hut found on the end of this trail was small and inconspicuous but most definitely magical. Its interior was bigger than its exterior, the fire that burned in the fireplace didn't produce any smoke and no unwanted guest could cross the doorstep.

In front of the building, the forester found one of the witches who was watering roses that were growing in front of the hut. She was really tall and had skin a bit darker than the baroness' elite soldiers. Her hair was of a medium length, black, curly and kind of square-shaped thanks to her wild hairdo. She was wearing cherry-coloured pants, dark pink shirt and long, black boots.

When she turned around and looked at the guest, the man flinched. She had a third eye on her forehead - a sight so unnatural that the forester couldn't get used to it, no matter how much times he had seen the woman.

\- "What brings you here today?" - the witch asked while leaning against the hut's wall - "Hunting for something?"

\- "Umm... I'm..." - the presence of a witch didn't have a positive impact on his speech skills.

\- "Or perhaps someone?" - she looked at him curiously.

\- "Actually yes. I'm searching for a young scholar. His name is Peridot or something like that" - he said, finally finding enough confidence.

\- "There's no man with that name in the woods" - the witch smiled at him a bit weirdly.

\- "Is that so?" - the forester asked with concern - "Thank you. I will go now..."

The woman nodded and kept looking at the man while he was disappearing between trees, a small smile on her face.

Technically, she didn't lie.

* * *

The young researcher slowly opened her eyes and looked around without moving her head. She was still lying on her side, on the stone ground and was still wrapped in the piece of fur. Her naked body was slightly sweaty, her blonde hair dry. She had her head on her bag.

She felt something rather heavy lying on her side.

A bit scared, she lifted her head to look at whatever was this mysterious object lying on her. What she saw was a lot more confusing that she had expected.

Because who in their right mind would expect an extremely untrustful monster that was pointing a sword at them a day before to be using them as a pillow? It was completely unexpected and nearly made Peridot jump.

But she managed to stay still. The nymph looked so sad and miserable. She was curled up into a ball and leaning on her human guest. There was a slightly visible distress on her face, like if she was having a really awful nightmare. The young scientist wondered if it was a good idea to wake her up but then she remembered that drowner from the night before and quickly declined.

She decided to just lie there, completely still, looking at the sleeping monster, getting more and more concerned about her new... acquaintance. It took some time for Lapis to wake up.

But when she did, she immediately saw a pair of big green eyes staring right at her. It took her a moment to process the situation. When she finally did, she just jumped up and took a few steps back.

\- "You looked like you were having a nightmare..." - Peridot said silently. The nymph didn't even look at her. She just walked towards the wall, as far from the young human as she could and then slumped down on the stone ground, her back turned to her guest - "Are you alright?"

\- "No" - the monster answered, her voice barely audible - "Not anymore..."

\- "It is because of me?" - the researcher asked. She was really afraid that her actions caused this depressed state of the nymph. And to her surprise, this fear wasn't coming from the fact that the being that was sitting in front of her was a monster that could rip her apart in seconds. It was a pure worry. She was just worried about the well-being of this creature. Of this complete stranger.

Perhaps that was just the fascination with the mythical creatures. Perhaps if she had seen a crying troll, she would also feel bad for him. Or that was something completely different. Maybe the nymph charmed her somehow?

\- "You don't have anything to do with this" - Lapis stood up. She took few steps and froze in place - "Wait!" - she whispered and started to listen carefully while the young scientist stared at her in sheer confusion.

But after few moments, she too started to hear something. Splashes of water. Creaks of wood. Really, really silent whispers.

Someone was coming.

\- "Oh no..." - the nymph looked completely lost. Distressed. Panicked - "They are here!" - she jumped to her nest, took Peridot's sword and put it in the sheath.

\- "Who?" - the researcher asked trying to keep her voice as silent as possible. She stood up, holding the piece of fur close to her bare chest.

\- "The hunters!" - Lapis answered right away. She then grabbed her human guest's clothes and gave both them and the sword to their's rightful owner - "The baroness' people! Get ready, we're leaving!"

Peridot instantly dropped to her knees, quickly collected her stuff and started to throw everything inside her bag. At the same time, she wondered why the hell all of this is happening. Why does this creature want to help her? Why does someone want to catch this nymph so bad? She decided to not think about this right now and also to pack her boots and trousers into the bag. They barely fit but she managed to close her luggage and secure it from being drenched in water. Then she glanced at the rest of her clothes and looked at Lapis.

\- "Could you turn away?" - she asked, her face red as a tomato.

\- "Come on!" - the nymph hissed - "We don't have time for that!" - she turned around anyway, her arms crossed in front of her chest - "I've already seen you naked anyway."

The scientist's face became even redder but she finally dropped the fabric and started dressing. It took her approximately three minutes to cover over a half of her body and to fasten her sword to the belt that was tightly secured above her hips. She picked up her travel bag and lifted her head to look at Lapis.

She didn't need to say anything because the nymph was already close, waiting for her to finish the preparations. She grabbed the poor, still confused and red-faced girl's head and planted a rough kiss on her mouth. There was this weird, tingling sensation in Peridot's throat once again but she didn't get a chance to think about that - Lapis quickly snatched her hand and jumped with her into the hole in the middle of the island.

Before Peridot was able to understand what was happening, she was already under water. It was cold and murky. The nymph and the scientist swam close to the bottom of the lake.

At some point, not that far from the island, a big shadow appeared and a series of weirdly distorted sounds could be heard. The frightened researcher looked up to see an underside of a boat that was slowly moving towards the nymph's home. A pair of paddles was rhythmically hitting the water's surface.

A pair of slim hands once again grasped her cheeks. The blue skinned entity turned the scientist's head towards her own. She looked really irritated so Peridot concluded that moving a bit faster might be a really wise decision.

Thus they moved forward. And soon they arrived at the lake's shore in a particularly overgrown place. As quietly as they could, they crawled out of the water and lied down in the reed. From there they could observe the situation unfold after the scientist finally finished her unusually quiet and bloody coughing fit.

Over a hundred meters from their position, on the same shore where a day before the fight with a drowner happened, three warriors were standing. Two of them were holding a crossbow. The third one only had a sword hanging from her hip. The young researcher recognised this person. It was Eyeball - one of the baroness' elite soldiers.

A lot more people were on the four boats that were surrounding the tiny island in the middle of the lake. Each little ship was carrying at least five soldiers. Each of them was armed with a crossbow and some of them had some weird packages with glass phials sticking out of them.

Peridot's clever mind quickly realised what was going on. Terrified by the realisation, she completely backed up from the water and pulled the nymph with her.

\- "I think they gonna poison the water..." - she said seeing Lapis' angry expression.

\- "No!" - the creature nearly screamed and with horrified expression tried to jump back into the lake. Thankfully, the young scientist managed to catch her - "What are you doing? Let me go!" - she hissed and tried to make the small woman let her go.

\- "They will kill you" - Peridot whispered in her ear.

\- "I don't care! Let me go!" - she went limp and started to quietly cry - "They will kill the lake... Please, let me go..."

The researcher bit her lower lip and started to slowly pull the crying entity towards the forest. She felt unbelievably guilty but every second of this was making the situation more and more dangerous. It was already a miracle that they didn't get a crossbow bolt into face right after crawling out of the lake.

And to keep their bodies free of deadly projectiles, Peridot ran between the trees with Lapis following her suit. Their bare feet didn't make a sound.

* * *

The sun was setting when the forester finally got back to his little hut on the edge of the forest. After leaving the witches' secret path, he decided to make sure that there were no human tracks in the woods.

There was a lot of them.

There was also a lot of horse tracks.

It looked like if a small army marched through the forest. The forester was pretty sure that all this chaos was created by baroness' soldiers, which made him a bit angry. How the hell they expected him to find anyone in this mess?

Sighing heavily, the man entered his little hut and closed the door. He dropped his bow, quiver and his bag with tools. He took off his green cloak and hung it on a wooden stick that was sticking from the wall right next to the door. Then he sat down on a chair to let his legs rest for a while. He was feeling older and older lately.

\- "How the hunting went for you?" - a sweet voice said. A woman with jewellery in her navel sat down on the table right next to the man.

\- "Umm..." - he was completely confused. Despite all the years of experience in tracking animals, he couldn't notice a stranger in his own home.

\- "You didn't find your prey, did you?" - she smiled. Her smile was exceptionally awful - "Also, I recall that you nearly said something really weird back in the tavern. And that you disappeared for a while in the forest."

\- "I was just doing what you asked me to do!" - he exclaimed, suddenly nervous.

\- "Oh, you were" - she patted his head - "But walking into some bushes and completely disappearing wasn't a part of our agreement."

\- "There was no agreement!" - he nearly screamed. The woman's smile only widened.

\- "We have one more favour to ask" - she said, her voice sickeningly sweet - "It will have something to do with your friends from the woods."

The forester could already hear the soldiers walking towards his hut.

* * *

 **And here we go! It didn't take that long to write this but I decided to post a chapter while having the next one ready and writing the next one took some time. I don't really know why. Maybe I have too much free time?**

 **Anyway, as always, I want to thank G .M .Keys for beta reading (sorry for writing your username so weirdly but this site likes to get rid of periods when they are after a letter).**

 **And as for reviews, we have one form guest named Alter Ego. Thank you for your review, I'm glad you like the first chapter. I would have posted this chapter earlier but this site wasn't working properly last night and I was already pretty tired (it was after 3 am). And you wanted a cameo from Garnet? Here you go.**

 **~MS**


	3. 3: Last Words

3\. Last Words

It was cold in the forest. The sun settled a few minutes ago and the moon wasn't visible yet. Every bush and every branch was slowly moving on the wind. It looked extremely creepy in the darkness.

Peridot, as scared as she was when she entered the forest for the first time, sat down under a tree. She dropped her bag close to her leg and hugged her knees. The rough surface of the bark she was leaning against gave her a little bit of confidence.

She was alone - Lapis disappeared somewhere shortly before the dusk. Without a word, without a sound, the nymph just walked away when the researcher wasn't looking. She was telling herself that it was bound to happen. Why would a creature like that want to stay with her? With a weak, pathetic, fragile human?

She reached into her bag and pulled out a piece of dried food. She didn't care what food it was - she wasn't even hungry. She was eating for comfort. Chewing was familiar - she could just focus on this simple activity and at least partially forget about the dark forest she was in the middle of.

The dried snack lasted for a good few minutes, although, at the end, Peridot was chewing on just a few small scraps that didn't taste like anything. She didn't pull out another piece. All this food should be saved for emergency situations and not eaten for comfort.

Now, though, the young researcher didn't have anything to do but look at the shadows moving in between the trees. And despite all the fear she was feeling, her eyelids were growing heavier and heavier. It should be expected, though. She had spent the entire day running in the forest and was extremely tired because of that.

Soon her head lowered and her breathing slowed down.

She was...

Hungry.

Empty.

Cold.

She needed to run.

To go.

Move.

Still was bad.

Walk, eat.

Meat...

There was meat.

Close, so close, she could smell it. The stench of fresh blood, of flesh just ripped out from under the skin. The veins were still pulsating, the heart was still beating. She could feel it with her entire body. Beating with desperation, trying to grasp the soul fleeting from the dying cadaver.

So fresh...

So soft...

A loud crunch made her stop. Her eyes snapped open, she grasped her sword and pulled it out of its sheath, her throat suddenly dry. There was something between the trees. A shadow, just like the ones all around her yet different. Its shape was kind of sticking out and it was definitely looking straight at her despite not having any visible eyes.

With her hand painfully clasped around the hilt of her sword, the researcher started to slowly back away, leaving behind the broken branch that probably saved her life. She walked until her back connected with the tree she was sitting under. Her eyes still focused on the mysterious shape and sweat streaming down her face and neck.

She was stuck in this position for a horribly long few minutes. Her heart was beating like crazy - like it wanted to rip her chest apart and run away by itself.

She nearly kicked a bucket when she heard someone approaching her from the side. She turned around with her sword, losing the sight of the shadow. It was the nymph, her bare feet covered in mud and leafs.

\- "Where were you!?" - she tried to scream angrily but her voice sounded meek and scared. Her hands started to shake because she realised that she couldn't see the shadowy figure anymore - "Why did you leave me alone?"

\- "They killed the lake..." - she whispered after a while - "It's dead... Everything is dead..." - her face looked like if she cried the entire way back from the lake.

\- "Can we go somewhere else?" - Peridot ignored her words, trying to find something in the darkness while picking up her bag.

Only then Lapis started to realise that something was out of place. She looked around like a frightened animal and without hesitation clasped the researcher's hand. Then she started pulling the smaller woman behind her while running seemingly blindly through the forest.

They ran over many bushes and jumped over a few small brooks. Peridot could barely see anything in the dark and nearly tripped over some branches and roots. She still held her sword in her hand, the blade hit everything they were running by.

After a very stressful three minutes of jogging in the dark, they arrived at a moonlit clearing with a piece of a fallen tree in the middle. The log was empty inside and its cross-section was in a shape of the letter "c". It was also overgrown with moss.

To Peridot this place seemed really creepy but Lapis was a lot calmer than before. She pushed the young researcher to the middle of the clearing and fell on her knees. With her pale hands, she cleared off a layer of old leaves and moss from the ground, getting straight to the solid soil. Then she picked up a random stick and started to carve a complicated shape.

\- "What is this?" - Peridot asked looking at her companion. She still felt like fainting and still held her sword tightly but the danger seemed to be not there anymore.

\- "Magic" - the nymph answered without looking away.

\- "You can do magic?" - the researcher looked at a glyph carved in the soil that was slowly sinking and filling with water with bewilderment.

The blue haired creature didn't respond. Instead, she proceeded to carve five more glyphs, creating a circle around the fallen tree. She stood up, closed her eyes and took a deep breath - all the symbols, already filled with water, started to glow weakly.

\- "You can hide that sword for now" - the nymph said - "There'll be nothing for you to whack with it for some time."

\- "Huh?" - the blonde looked at her hand, still clasped around the hilt. She didn't really realise that she was still holding the blade - "What are we gonna do now?" - she asked while putting her weapon back into its sheath.

\- "Did you see anything back there?" - Lapis ignored her question.

\- "Some sort of a shadow? I'm not sure..." - she barely remembered anything. Only the fear and something hidden in the shadows.

The information was apparently too vague for Lapis to get concerned about her companion. She just looked at the small woman for a moment and then turned around and started to clean up the leaves that accumulated inside of the empty log. She seemed to be quite sad again. All the fear that urged her to move disappeared already and she remembered the fate of her home.

\- "Let's go to sleep" - she said quietly. Her voice was void of emotions. She sat down on the fallen tree and leaned on her knees.

Peridot really wanted to ask some additional questions but the nymph's face suggested that it wasn't a very bright idea. Wondering what the hell was happening, the researcher took off her boots and trousers. Through her socks, she could feel how cold and damp was the ground.

Lapis leaned into the inside of the log and pulled her legs in. Then she looked at her hesitating companion, her expression still rather emotionless.

\- "Come on" - she said - "You don't want to sleep on the ground."

It was true - the young researcher really didn't want to do that. But sleeping in one, really small and not really bed-like, bed with a monster was wrong on a lot of levels.

She shook her head, detached her sword from her belt and dropped it beside her bag. Then she laid down in front of the nymph and thrown her trousers over their feet. She wanted to turn away, so she wouldn't face her companion but Lapis stopped her.

\- "Don't look at the forest" - both her voice and her gaze were deadly serious. She put her hand on her companion's back to make sure she wouldn't turn around and then closed her eyes.

The researcher was practically hugging the nymph. It was weird. It was warm. It was awkward and - to some extent - uncomfortable. The creature smelled like salt water. It was surprisingly pleasant and it made the young woman a bit anxious about her own body odour. After all, she hadn't had a chance to take a bath in a long time.

All those thoughts and the fear of unknown things she shouldn't look at that were apparently hidden among the trees made falling asleep particularly difficult.

But after a while, even all of that wasn't enough to stop the wave of sleepiness caused by the fatigue.

* * *

The dungeon's floor smelled really bad. Like a rotting hay and human waste. It was impossible to run away from this awful smell - being chained to a wall in a tiny cell. Additionally, the rags that the guards ordered him to wear were also quite filthy and smelly. The forester was sure that someone died in them before.

After being captured in his own home, the man got dragged to the castle's dungeon. The baroness' filthy soldiers beat him up, took his clothes locked him in a cell. They said that someone will come soon to question him. He definitely wasn't looking forward to it. Unfortunately, at the same time, he couldn't think of any way out of this situation. He wasn't even important enough for any of his "influential friends" to rescue his sorry ass.

Distant footsteps and warm light of a torch disturbed the dark silence of the dungeon. Soon three shadows on the stone floor appeared in front of the cell. The biggest one belonged to baroness herself.

The giant woman opened the cell's door and walked in, the room barely containing her height. A pair of dark-skinned, short women followed their leader suit. The one that had first dragged him from his home was there. The second one was muscular and looked a little bit feral. It was unsettling.

\- "I heard that you have something to tell me" - the monstrous woman said, hovering over the prisoner. Her voice was suspiciously and strangely happy.

The forester looked straight at the baroness. There was a huge problem with the current situation. On one hand, if he didn't say anything, he would be beaten to a pulp and then executed. On the other hand, if he betrayed the witches, he would be killed by some nasty curse. And there was still a probability of being executed just for meeting a witch. But the complications didn't end here - he actually didn't know anything useful about the ladies of the forest.

In other words: he was doomed. There was no chance of survival. He would have better chances in a snake pit.

\- "So? Anything?" - the baroness asked. She was still smiling as if she was talking to a friend - "Little shy? Oh, don't worry. Those nice ladies right here will help you to feel comfortable" - she pointed at the southern women - "I have some things to do right now. I'll see you all in an hour" - the large woman then walked out of the cell and disappeared into the darkness of the dungeon's corridor.

The angry-looking woman immediately closed the heavy, wooden door of the cell while her companion produced a leather bag from behind her back. The bag, as the man soon discovered, was full of all kinds of metal tools. Some of them looked like they were used by doctors, others seemed to be used for skinning animals and the rest... He couldn't really imagine what the rest could do.

\- "Navy! Why the hell have you brought this crap here?" - the feral gal angrily exclaimed. It gave the forester a small little bit of hope. That didn't last very long, however - "It's my turn now!"

\- "You'll beat him to death, just like the last one" - the one named Navy protested, a slight annoyance in her voice.

\- "Oh, come on! This one doesn't look as pathetic as the last one" - she jabbed his shoulder with a finger - "He won't fall apart after a few light taps!"

\- "Ugh..." - Navy sighed theatrically - "Okay... But when I say stop, you stop" - her companion grinned and nodded vigorously. Even while smiling she looked kind of angry - "Remember to interrogate him, though. Don't just beat him."

\- "Right..." - the feral one said. She stood in front of the prisoner and rested her chin on her fist. Her thought process was written on her face - "So... Tell me everything you know, you... scum!"

For some reason, the cold, paralyzing fear found its way to the man's heart only just now. He realised that there is no way to avoid painful interrogation and it made him afraid for his life.

\- "I don't know anything!" - he said quickly, his voice suddenly feeble.

Navy, standing against the wall right next to the door, smiled lightly. She made a really kind face as if she really cared for the poor man's life.

\- "Don't you know you shouldn't lie?" - she said with a patronizing voice you would use when explaining something to a child - "People don't like when you tell them lies."

Treating the last word as a permission, the small, feral lady launched her right fist right into the middle of prisoners' gut. He instantly wheezed and vomited on the already filthy stone floor. An awful yet familiar smell quickly filled the room.

The aggressive woman looked at him with disdain before slapping him on the side of his head. The wave of stinging warmth was almost enjoyable compared to the previous blow.

\- "I really don't know anything..." - he uttered, feeling an unpleasant taste in his mouth. He slowly lifted his head and looked straight at the female warrior.

The blinding pain was quickly turning into numb darkness. It was pretty clear that the forester didn't manage to get any mercy from staring at his torturer.

\- "And you did this again..." - Navy sighed heavily - "Now pray to the Diamonds that you didn't kill him because if you did, I'll kick your ass."

With that, she left the room and a moment later walked back in with a bucket full of cold water. Then, she dumped the liquid on the prisoner's head. He woke up almost immediately and started to spit and snort.

\- "I didn't even hit him that hard..." - the feral soldier murmured. She was standing in the corner with her back to her comrade and the forester - "Are the people in this place made of shit or something?"

The prisoner barely could hear that. Hell, he barely could see his torturers and he didn't really know what was happening. It seemed that whatever hit him also messed up his brain a little bit.

\- "Hey" - the southern woman with jewellery in her belly button grasped the man's chin and lifted his head. It took him a moment to find her eyes and attempt to maintain the eye contact - "You will now talk with me, okay?"

\- "I... really don't know... I swear..." - he mumbled.

\- "Hands or feet, then?" - she asked sweetly and waited for a bit. She shrugged when the forester looked at her questioningly - "So hands it is. You won't need them anymore anyway."

Before he could even process what he just heard, Navy grabbed his hand and without any hesitation ripped out one of his fingernails. He screamed and bit his tongue as thick, warm fluid started to drip from his finger.

\- "Army, could you bring me the cauldron, please?" - asked the woman, her eyes fixated on a bloodied fingernail she was holding with metal pincers - "You know which one."

\- "I'm on it sis" - the feral one smiled and her eyes viciously gleaned with a dark look of excitement.

Soon she was back. With leather mittens on her hands, she brought a metal cauldron full of embers and metal tools. It made a dull sound when she put it on on the floor and it instantly got a bit warmer in the small cell.

Navy took one of the mittens and put it on. Then she picked one of the tools - a pincer that was red-hot at its end - and clamped the prisoner's mangled finger with it. The skin hissed with the contact and the blood sizzled. He screamed once again, this time nearly losing consciousness from the pain.

\- "Don't be a baby" - she scolded as if she was talking to a child who was crying because they got a little bruise on their knee - "You don't want to die of blood loss, right?"

If the pain didn't make it really hard to concentrate on speaking, the forester would say that he had a different opinion.

* * *

Waking up next to somebody was really, really unusual for Peridot. Especially when said somebody was so close that she could feel their heart beating. And unlike its weirdly slow rhythm, her own heart was racing like crazy at this point.

\- "You're awake" - the young researcher heard. She also got a fistful of blue hair in her eyes, nose and mouth. It was kinda uncomfortable but at least it smelled nice. Like salt water.

But by laying like that, she blocked her companion's way and pretty much restrained her movement. That clearly wasn't very nice of her so she started to clumsily move away. Unfortunately, the empty log they were sleeping in wasn't big enough to make more space for a second person by simply moving away. Because of that she quickly fell on her butt.

It was enough to wake her up completely and soon she was standing barefoot on cold soil covered with moss and leafs. Morning in the forest was rather cold. Her skin quickly got covered with goosebumps as her hair stood up trying to warm up her body. She started to look for her trousers and boots to isolate herself from the hostile temperatures.

\- "Did you just panic out of the bed?" - Lapis asked and started to stretch her body while yawning and still laying in their makeshift bed. She sounded quite amused which was a good change after her rather depressing mood from the previous day.

\- "No!" - Peridot pretended she was offended - "I just wanted to give you more space" - she said while fastening her trouser belt.

\- "Yeah, sure" - the nymph smiled with half of her mouth. She then crawled out of the empty log, stood up and started walking around, looking at the markings she left on the ground a few hours ago. They were all in good condition. Nobody tried to do anything with them when she and her companion were sleeping.

\- "Are we gonna find some water or something? You know... to refresh ourselves, get rid of the after sleep taste in our mouths..." - the young human yawned. She was already fully dressed, her sword attached to her belt and her backpack on her back.

\- "That might be a good place to start, you know" - the bluish skinned creature said while turning towards her companion. With a nonchalant move of her foot, she scrapped one of the symbols and the surrounding forest suddenly got a lot less blurry. Now every single branch was visible and leafs stopped looking like monochromatic smears resting on the treetops.

Peridot was taking it all in with her mouth open wide. After all, magick was quite new to her. It was pretty hard to find someone capable of it outside of one of the Diamonds' courts. This spectacle ended quickly and quite unexpectedly when she looked at her companion's suddenly pale face.

\- "Umm... What? Is something wrong?" - she asked, confused and a little bit startled.

Without a word, the nymph extended her arm and pointed at the ground. There, right next to the blue-haired entity's glyphs started a foot deep ring of eroded soil. It looked like something took a big bite of the ground and then, in the middle of the hole, the makeshift encampment reappeared, changing the hole into a ring-shaped one.

\- "What is this?" - the researcher asked, now significantly more confused and startled.

\- "Let's get moving" - Lapis grabbed her hand and guided her over the ring and into the forest. They moved fast yet a lot slower than on the previous night. The nymph seemed to really want to get away from those strange markings that appeared on the ground when they were sleeping. She stopped only when she found a shallow, narrow brook flowing in a ditch in between the trees. She then jumped into the cold, slightly murky water, crouched and looked straight at her toes - "We need to find a safe place to sleep today" - she said after a while.

\- "Okay..." - Peridot just nodded, walked closer and sat on the bank of the brook.

'Why am I doing this?' she asked herself and drew some water in her cupped hands. She smelled it and splashed it on her face after deciding that it smelled fresh enough. After that, she repeated this action few times, rinsed her mouth and drank some. 'I guess that if I had stayed in the castle I would miss out on a lot of things... I hope I won't stay here forever'.

She winced when her stomach rumbled. She barely ate anything on the previous day. There was still some dry food in her bag, so she opened it up and started eating. A piece of dried meat and a biscuit were hardly a filling meal, unfortunately.

\- "You want to go and search for some berries?" - Lapis asked suddenly. She then stood up and, without waiting for her companion marched off.

Even if the young researcher wasn't all for finding some more food right now, she would quickly follow the nymph. She didn't really have any other choice. Not knowing anything about the forest and the beasts within, she would surely die if left alone for more than a few hours.

The search didn't take that long. Maybe a half of an hour or so. And it didn't really feel like a search because the monster-lady seemed to just walk forward and towards some set objective. Granted, they found a lot of little berry bushes growing close to each other but it was still weird.

\- "Hey" - Peridot swallowed a handful of berries and tried to get her companion's attention. It didn't work. The nymph was spacing out while leaning against a tree, her hand holding a berry right in front of her berry-juice stained lips. The researcher needed to throw a few fruits at her to snap her out of it - "How did you know where to find this" - she pointed at the ground.

\- "Huh?"

\- "How did you know where to find those berries? You obviously didn't search for them."

\- "Oh..." - she thought for a moment - "I asked the forest about that."

The scientist looked at her suspiciously and quickly turned her gaze to the berries. She smelled them but their scent wasn't off at all.

\- "You did what?" - she asked in disbelief.

\- "I talked with that brook" - she answered calmly and started to chew on a berry.

\- "What..."

\- "It told me what the trees heard from other trees" - she continued after swallowing the fruit - "And now I know where to go" - the nymph pushed herself away from the tree and started walking in only known to her direction.

\- "Wait! Let me make some supplies!" - Peridot shouted and started collecting every fruit in her reach. Her bag quickly gained some blue stains on the inside.

* * *

There wasn't a lot of sunlight this morning. The sun hid behind a thick layer of clouds changing the sky grey. Frankly, it was a perfect weather for the event planned by the baroness.

A traitor to the gallows.

Tortured man's legs could barely support his weight. His bloodied body suspended between two tall soldiers, he was finally leaving the dungeon. The night he spend there, in dank, dark cell, felt like hundreds of years.

The clear, fresh air of the outside world nearly knocked him unconscious. He happily cried, finally free of the stench of blood, vomit and burned flesh. If only the pain could go away...

They threw him on the ground and his knees collided with a wooden surface. A few wounds from the previous night opened up. Someone's heavy hand grasped his neck and violently set him on his feet.

\- "Give him something to drink!" - a harsh, female voice could be heard and soon a bottle full of a smelly substance appeared in front of his face.

He drank greedily, the bitter liquid flowed down his throat, burning like a flame. He snapped his eyes open and started coughing after nearly choking on the alcohol. In front of him, on the castle's courtyard, the entire baroness' little army was standing. Rough, sketchy people, all wearing orange and yellow clothes over leather armours. They were talking, laughing and cheering. Some of them had cups or bottles in their hands.

In front of the group, the baroness herself was standing, surrounded by her elite pawns. She was looking straight at the prisoner. A crooked smile on her face made her look like an angry animal.

The same hand as before pushed the man onto a stool and put a noose around his neck. The rope was rough and scratched his throat.

\- "Forester Lutz" - the monstrous woman exclaimed, her voice loud and her tone mocking - "For your relations with traitors and filthy witches, for not reporting on their whereabouts and for opposing the authority you are officially sentenced to death on the gallows" - she announced and spat on the ground - "Any last words?"

'That wasn't fair. That wasn't fair at all' Lutz's mind suddenly exploded with anger. 'It's not me who worships an old god. It's not me who fucks a monster! Those people should be here, not me! I only tried to live my life!'

\- "For your crimes against humanity, Diamonds and everything that is sacred" - he screamed as loud as he could. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth nearly instantly - "I, from the bottom of my heart, curse you!"

The baroness only rolled her eyes and gave a sign to the executioner. He nodded and kicked the stool from under the prisoner's feet. The bloodied body fell and instantly stopped. An audible crack of a broken neck followed.

But, to everyone's terror Lutz's voice didn't disappear.

\- "I curse you! You will live as a beast you are! Your closest friends will run, scared for their lives!" - the dead man screamed, his neck unnaturally bent - "And you will sit on your filthy throne, undying and alone until the Bloodied God himself won't pardon your crimes!"

And then silence.

Ringing in everyone's ears like if not hearing this haunting voice was the least normal thing in the entire world.

\- "Burn the body" - the baroness was pale - "Burn it and bury it. Far from the castle. And burn the gallows too."

She turned towards the castle and started walking. On her way, she took someone's bottle and drank the entire content with one big gulp.

* * *

Where would a nymph go in the forest? The answer should be pretty obvious for all who knew about the creature's nature.

It was water, of course.

She would go and find herself a pond to soak in.

And that is just what Lapis did. She found a pond with a brook flowing out of it and a small waterfall flowing into it. It was a really beautiful sight, although Peridot couldn't appreciate its aesthetic values to the fullest because of a totem that was towering over the clearing the pond was located in.

It was made out of wood, cloth, ropes and bones. Lots of bones. The empty eye sockets of various animals' skulls were looking over the area. Ribcages of different sizes stored all kinds of dried flowers and herbs. Shiny pieces of metal were sparkling in the weak sunlight.

It was really frightening for the young researcher yet her companion seemed to be unfazed. It was clear that she had already seen an become used to the unusual sight. Lapis wasn't fazed or bothered by the frightening totem of bones. The creepy pile of remains and trash was seemingly harmless to her.

\- "A human, huh?" - a deep, slow voice ringed inside Peridot's head. She immediately fell on her butt and started to look around in search of the voice's source, panic in her eyes.

\- "She's harmless!" - Lapis exclaimed. She also tried to locate the voice's owner.

\- "I can tell that much" - laughed the voice - "Don't be scared little one. You are my guest now and nothing will harm you" - a beast, as tall as two grown men, one standing on top of the other, materialised in the shadow in between the trees. It was wearing a cloak made of leaves and moss, and its legs were made of wood. On its shoulders, all kinds of mushrooms were growing. In place of the head, it had a deer's skull with massive antlers - "It is rare for you, humans, to wander so far into the forest" - the leshy spoke. Then he took a long step, leaned forward and offered his long, wooden hand to his human guest.

* * *

 **I'm considering changing the rating of this story to "M" but I think that it should be good for some time in the "T" rating.**

 **So... Did you liked this chapter? Please, share your opinions and questions in the reviews. Also - sorry for not uploading for such a long time. I had some exams...**

 **And finally - I would like to thank my beta reader - G. M. Keyes - for beta reading this story.**

 **I would also like to thank Gabrion and Sincerely LES for posting reviews under previous chapters. I'm really glad you like my story so far.**


	4. 4: I will grant you a wish

4\. I will grant you a wish

She tried to maintain the eye contact. She really did. But it was just impossible. Because how the hell would anybody be able to do that while talking to a monstrous creature with a skull in place of its head?

She was scared, confused, uncomfortable and yet extremely interested in everything that was going on around her at the moment but the two black holes that the leshy had instead of eyes were a bit too much. And thanks to the fact that the nymph decided to go skinny dipping in the pond, the researcher couldn't really look anywhere else than straight at her own feet. After a while, she had memorized every single scratch on her boots.

\- "So…. What brings you to my forest, my dear guest?" - the leshy asked in his deep, slow voice. The young scientist flinched a bit. The question was really sudden compared to the earlier tirade about an insect that was destroying trees so she needed a moment to wrap her head around it.

\- "I'm researching legendary creatures" - she said and opened her bag. From it, she pulled out her sketchbook and showed her sketches and notes to the creature. It leaned closer and even turned few pages to look at more drawings.

\- "You want to draw the creatures of this forest, hm?" - the leshy looked at her closely - "Do you know that you need my permission do to such a thing safely?"

Peridot was taken aback. She didn't expect this kind of an obstacle, especially after all the weird things that happened up to this point. Though, she was well informed about this creature's position in the forest's hierarchy and she read a lot of folk tales that described its mischievous nature.

\- "I will let you roam my forest as much as you want under one condition" - he said before making a dramatic pause. Judging by his manner of speech, it could've been just a regular pause but Peridot preferred the first option - I want you to draw me in this little book of yours.

Despite being pretty uncomfortable, the young researcher looked up and straight at the creature's bony face, her eyes full of disbelief. She was a little bit worried for a moment because the leshy could've asked for some ridiculous payment but it turned out that she didn't really need to. After all…

\- "Well… I-I was going to draw you anyway…" - she said and quickly looked away. Then she corrected herself and once again made eye contact. She kinda needed to know how the creature looked like to draw it.

\- "Marvelous!" - the word echoed painfully in the girls head. It was comparable to the sound a bell would make after getting hit with a particularly big hammer - "Now say, did you two have a nice trip through the woods?"

\- "Um… - the scientist discreetly looked at the nymph but quickly turned her gaze back to the leshy, her face significantly redder than before - "Not entirely…"

\- "What?!" - his words were filled with a weirdly contagious feeling of anger - "What happened?"

Peridot took out a piece of charcoal and started drawing while summarising the events of last two days. The king of the forest listened to her patiently while observing her hand moving over the paper. He got quite angry more than once but he didn't exactly show it. The researcher could easily feel it, however, and it didn't help her in sketching.

\- "This is worrying" - the creature said when she finished talking. Her drawing was nearly ready too - "It should not be out there… It must have felt something coming…"

\- "You mean this shadowy figure?" - asked Peridot. The memory of the disturbing presence still made her nervous.

\- "Oh, yes. It went away long ago because the food was scarce and of poor quality" - the leshy said and turned away, looking at the nearest trees. Or beyond them? The girl wasn't sure - "Since it is back now, it means that something will happen."

\- "What exactly will happen?" - she was pretty confused about the entire thing. Instead of answers she got only new questions.

\- "Something bad" - the creature said before disappearing.

Peridot blinked a few times. There was a bunch of fully grown weeds where he was standing only a second ago. It was a little bit scary how easily this being could move around despite its size.

\- "How did it go?" - a familiar voice asked.

It was coming from the small pond so she looked that way and - once again - almost instantly looked away with a face that could rival embers both in redness and heat. The nymph was now standing on the shore and she was not only naked but also stretching her limbs. The researcher, now with a picture of a nude Lapis permanently burned into her brain, was quite surprised how similar this creature's body was to a human one.

\- "W-well. It went well. I guess" - she answered after curling into a ball - "Didn't you hear it, though? You were right next to us."

\- "Well… He wasn't exactly speaking" - Lapis picked up her clothes and started putting them on while her body was still dripping wet - "Though I heard you. What did he say about that monster from yesterday?"

\- "Nothing much. Only some vague information" - the young scientist grabbed her bag and pulled it towards herself. She quickly packed her things inside - "Something about this thing not being supposed to be here and that it came because something bad will happen."

\- "That doesn't sound well…" - the nymph stood over the girl. A few droplets of water dripped from her hair onto the researcher's face - "But I'm sure that we'll be safe as long as we are in the woods."

\- "I hope you are right…"

\- "So… What do you think about searching for some more monsters for this research of yours?"

* * *

Something wasn't right.

She could feel it right under her skin. Or maybe in her head? She wasn't sure about this part.

Maybe it was a curse? Would this pathetic forester be able to actually curse her? It was a scary thought… What was his name? Luntz? Lutz? Something like that. Perhaps remembering it could be important if it really was a curse.

She stopped walking in circles and looked at her own portrait that was hanging on the wall in front of her. She tried to remember any fairy-tales about curses. There was this one about the guy with a rose and the one with a woman and spoons and… She snapped her fingers remembering that the words of the curse were also pretty important.

Leaning over her desk, she pulled out ink, quill and a piece of paper. Scratching her chin, she tried to remember the dying words of the forester. She managed to write them down nearly instantly. It was scary how well she remembered them.

After taking a few deep breaths and drinking a half of a bottle of some local moonshine she had stuffed in a drawer, she finally decided what to do.

\- "Navy!" - she screamed after opening the doors to her room. The small, dark skinned woman appeared almost instantly. She took a bow before speaking.

\- "Present and ready for orders" - her voice was professionally sweet and the jewelry that adorned her abdomen glistened in the candlelight.

\- "Go and fetch a doctor from the village" - the baroness turned around and sat on her desk. She picked up the piece of paper and stared at it blankly - "What was her name? It sounded a little bit exotic…"

\- "Priyanka?" - the soldier asked - "Are you feeling unwell?"

\- "Yeah, that one" - Jasper tossed the paper back on the desk and forced a smile - "And no. I'm feeling alright" - she lied.

Navy didn't ask any follow-up questions. She just closed the door and went away without a sound. The baroness stood up and - after walking in circles for a few minutes - fell onto her bed. She laid there and looked at the wooden ceiling until her servant came back.

\- "Hello? Um…" - a dark skinned woman in her late thirties got pretty much shoved inside the room. Her long black hair was slowly turning gray. She was wearing a white shirt with a universal symbol of medics on the left side of the chest and a long, brown dress.

\- "You are Priyanka, right?" - the baroness stood up and walked up to the doctor who simply nodded. She was significantly taller than the dark skinned woman - "I have some questions for you."

\- "Of course. What do you want to know, baroness?" - she put her leather bag on the desk and looked straight into the giant woman's eyes.

\- "As you're probably aware, we executed a criminal this morning" - Jasper closely observed the physician's reaction but her face remained professional - "Right before dying, he said something that sounded like a curse. Is it possible that he cursed me?"

\- "Well… According to the official magic law, it is impossible to curse anybody in any wa…"

\- "Yeah, yeah. And all the monsters that we kill in the forest are also fake" - the baroness interrupted her with a mocking smile - "Forget about the magic laws. If I wanted to hear about that bullshit, I would just look into the codex."

\- "I don't know then…" - the woman looked at the floor - "I can use some healing magic on you, baroness. If it'll calm you down…"

\- "Do it then. If you don't have anything better."

The doctor sighed silently and opened her bag. From it, she pulled out a small wooden box with the medic's symbol over a diamond painted on it and gently put it on the desk. Inside of the box lay a pair of snow-white gloves with blue symbols scribbled all over them. She put them on carefully as if she was dealing with glass rather than fabric.

With the magical gloves on, she turned towards her patient and put her left hand on the side of her neck. Then she lifted the baroness' shirt and placed her right hand under her left breast. Ignoring the unhappy hiss, she started muttering the words she memorised back in the academy. The symbols on the gloves started to glow and Jasper felt a stream of energy going through her body. It slowly lost its intensity over time and changed into a pleasant warmth that lingered for few minutes after the doctor stopped reciting her magical formula and backed away.

\- "I really can't do much if it's a curse" - Priyanka said while packing her gloves back into the bag - "But I can come if something happens. I'll do whatever I can to help a person in need."

\- "I appreciate it" - Jasper didn't really mean it. She was acting more out of respect towards the physician than anything else - "My servant will pay you and escort you to the gate."

The last few words were said a little bit louder. The door was opened almost instantly by Navy who showed the way for the doctor and closed the room right after the dark skinned woman was outside.

The baroness sighed deeply. The magical healing procedure was rather pleasant but didn't change anything. She still felt this general uneasiness.

She hoped that it wasn't something that couldn't be fixed with alcohol and meat.

* * *

After the meeting with the leshy, the forest became far more hospitable which made Peridot a little bit uneasy but it definitely wasn't unwelcome. There were a lot more of fresh berries growing everywhere than on the previous day and everything just seemed to be less dark and damp.

It didn't mean, however, that walking through the woods was any easier. The flora was dense enough to significantly slow the pair down by forcing them to mind practically every step. That wasn't much of a problem, though, because both the nymph and the researcher were quite busy with talking.

\- "Where did that energy come from?" - asked Peridot. The sudden enthusiasm of her companion seemed kinda out of character.

\- "What do you mean?"

\- "It's just that that you seemed really sad lately" - that was an understatement. Lapis seemed to be pretty much depressed after her home got destroyed. But apparently some sleep and a bath were enough to make her happy - "But suddenly you are that eager to help me in my research."

\- "I don't have anything else to do" - she shrugged and smiled a little. It didn't seem to be one hundred percent genuine - "And spending time with you is far better than sitting all alone in a pond."

\- "Um… Thank you…" - 'was that a compliment?'.

\- "You want to hear about some monsters?" - the nymph asked after a few minutes of silence - "Maybe about drowners?" - she picked a berry without stopping and popped it into her mouth.

\- "Well… Why not?" - she had a sketch of a drowner's head in her sketchbook along with some notes and she was attacked once by such a creature but that wasn't a lot of data. Definitely not enough to write a chapter about them.

\- "Hmm…" - Lapis picked up another fruit. Her tongue was now significantly more blue than before - "They smell. You ever smelled a rotting corpse of someone who died underwater and got pulled ashore after some time?"

\- "Can't say I have…" - but she started to imagine how that would look like. And it wasn't a pleasant thought.

\- "It's worse than a body that was lying on the sun but better than one that was lying in a bog. At least in my opinion" - she said while popping another berry into her mouth. Peridot felt her stomach churning - "Anyway, they smell like that. But I don't think that's their body smelling because the water they swim in isn't that disgusting."

\- "So what would that be? Their breath?" - 'their excrements?'. Both options were equally awful when she remembered that the main source of food for drowners were things that drowned or got washed ashore.

\- "I don't really want to know but it's a fact. And a useful one at that" - she smiled, showing her berry-stained teeth - "They are also pretty good swimmers. Nearly as good as nymphs. And, also similarly to nymphs, they can go out of the water. But not for too long."

\- "Thank the Diamonds…" - the young researcher decided to stay away from bodies of water that are too dirty to be see-through. At least for now.

\- "What else…" - Lapis scratched the back of her head - "Oh! They can look differently. The ones that are living in the oceans have different skin and some of them generally have bigger fins."

\- "Maybe those with bigger fins are males?" - the scientist thought out loud - "Anyway… Where are we going?"

the nymph didn't really have any answer for that and, luckily for her, she didn't need to. Not even a minute after the girl's question, the pair walked out from the dense forest and into a pretty big clearing. It was a small hill covered with grass and all kinds of weeds. There was a bunch of unnaturally shaped stones sticking out of its top.

Peridot didn't waste any time and ran to the weird structure right away. Her aquatic companion was a little more careful and looked around before joining the young scientist on the top of the hill. Up there, they could closely examine the stones.

They were definitely man-made and quite old. The decorative sculpting on them was pretty much completely eroded by time and weather so the researcher couldn't understand anything. Because of that, the stones quickly became really boring and the pair moved on to look around the hill some more.

To their surprise, there was a stone entrance in the side of the hill. It was closed off with a metal gate which was slightly ajar. Opening it completely wasn't easy, however, as the hinges were covered with rust. In fact, the entire thing was misshapen because of the layer of corroded iron. All of it suggested that this structure was really old and made Peridot curious despite her not being a historian.

After nearly fifteen minutes of hard work, they managed to half-open the gate. Trying to push and pull further was futile as it got utterly stuck. Thankfully, there was enough space for the girl and the nymph to get inside so they stopped and took a break before getting inside.

\- "What do you think is this?" - asked the researcher after sitting on the grass, beside her backpack.

\- "How I'm supposed to know? Never seen something like that…" - Lapis pulled out a handful of berries from some hidden pocket and put a few of them in her mouth. After a second thought, she decided to share with her companion. She sat closer to her and offered a few fruits. Peridot accepted them by opening her mouth and letting her pop them in - "What do you think? You humans build things like that."

\- "I'd guess that it's some kind of a barrow" - she answered after swallowing the fruits.

\- "A barrow?"

\- "Or a kurgan. Some people call it that" - she lay on the grass and looked at the sky. It wasn't a very delightful sight since the entire sky was hidden behind a layer of gray clouds - "It's kind of a grave. A place where a dead person is resting. Or rather… where their body is stored. It's an old tradition. It's actually forbidden now. The Diamonds' law says that a dead body needs to be burned to free the soul of something like that. I'm not sure."

\- "Oh, I get it" - the nymph perked up a little bit - "We, nymphs, too have a way of honoring our dead. We push their bodies into the depths."

\- "That's similar to how sailors deal with their dead, actually" - Peridot said. She was surprised that her companion didn't ask her about the Diamonds. Did she know about them already? She also stopped herself from asking if the dead nymphs pile up over time.

\- "What do you think we will find inside?" - Lapis seemingly ignored her statement but the girl wasn't fazed by that.

\- "Who knows? Probably some bones" - she shrugged. Old burial grounds shouldn't contain much more.

Or should they?

Who knows, maybe all those ghost stories were actually true? Thoughts like that made her lift her head and closely look at the darkness inside the barrow.

Was that a movement she just saw?

A shadowy figure lurking somewhere inside, waiting for somebody foolish enough to open the old gate and free it?

Somehow her thoughts managed to abandon this topic and move on to something equally disturbing, although in a different matter. Because was it really morally okay to just waltz into someone's tomb? On the one hand, the only person who could judge her right now was a nymph who didn't seem to have much of an idea about human culture. On the other… Yeah… It may bother her a lot later.

\- "So... Are we going in?" - the nymph asked after standing up and stretching her limbs.

Peridot sighed and took her bag. Still a little conflicted, she approached the gate and looked inside. It was far too dark to see. She wasn't even sure if her eyes could get used to such darkness.

\- "Do you have any light?" - she asked looking back at her companion.

\- "Light? Um…" - Lapis cupped her hands in front of her mouth and focused for a moment. Then she parted her lips and pushed out an orb of water. It swirled over her fingers for a minute before it started to glow. Getting more and more bright it floated upwards and stopped slightly above the nymph's forehead. She looked at the researcher and smiled proudly.

The young scientist didn't really know what to think about that so she just smiled, nodded and entered the kurgan. The interior of the tomb lit up as her companion followed her inside. Or rather a part of it lit up. A short stone corridor with three steps leading downward and a fragment of a stone floor. For some reason the rest of the barrow just stayed in the shadow, despite the pair moving further inside.

Scared way more than before, Peridot slowly extended her trembling hand to touch the wall of darkness. She could hear her own heartbeat and feel the breath of her companion who suddenly got really close to her. It was comforting to some extent.

\- "What are you doing here?" - a deep, gruff voice came somewhere from the darkness - "Are you grave robbers? There's nothing for you to steal here, you pieces of shit."

The pair was completely speechless. Whatever was speaking to them was noticeably tired and angry yet the situation seemed to be strangely surreal. And the swearing didn't help.

Then, the mysterious being snapped its fingers, lighting up hundreds of old, yellow candles that were placed in the kurgan was flooded with a warm light. Peridot immediately took a step back and she would've probably landed on her butt if her companion hadn't caught her. In the middle of the tomb, on a stone sarcophagus, sat a creature. It was a little bit taller than your average human and quite fat. Its skin was dark gray and covered with body hair that was far more dense in some places. From the sides of its round head a pair of black horns and goat-like ears were sticking out. A pair of completely black eyes was partially hidden in the chubby face. Instead of feet, the creature had a pair of black hooves that didn't really matched up size-wise with the rest of the body.

\- "A human and a nymph working together?" - the beast's facial expressions were highly exaggerated. It's smile, for example, was far too wide and toothy. And the teeth were dirty and unhealthy - "That's new!" - laughing, the monster jumped down from the sarcophagus and hobbled towards the pair. Standing uncomfortably close, he looked straight at them. His breath smelled like rotting teeth - "I'll ask again before kicking you out: what are you doing here, you little shits?"

\- "We are not grave robbers!" - Peridot screamed with an unusually thin voice. Her face was nearly white and her heart was racing like crazy.

\- "Ohh… Who are you then?" - the corners of the monster's mouth were getting closer and closer to his ears.

\- "I'm a biologist! I'm researching legendary creatures!" - she talked so fast that it was hard to understand her words. Lapis started to worry that her companion was going to pass out or something.

\- "Ha! And what did you expect to find in a fucking kurgan? A ghost? Dog-sized spiders?" - he wiped away a black, thick tear that had formed in the corner of his eye as he was laughing - "Lucky you! You found something way better!" - he slapped the sides of his enormous belly which resulted in a really unpleasant sound - "A real, one of a kind, infamous Chort!"

\- "So a demon?" - asked the researcher in a small voice. She wasn't ready for that at all.

\- "Kinda" - he cringed a little - "Something like that… Also a personification of evil" - he grinned, once again showing his nasty teeth. His nose changed into a pig's snout for a second - "Or so they say…"

\- "C-can you tell me something about yourself?" - Peridot uttered. If not for the nymph's firm embrace, she would definitely fall on her butt.

\- "People say that I bring bad weather and diseases with the wind but that's just bullshit" - he shrugged before taking a few steps back and sitting down on the sarcophagus - "I can change my shape on will and whisper obscenities into children's ears. I like to encourage suicides but I can also make any wish come true!" - in less than a second, he closed the distance between him and his guests. He then leaned forward so his enormous face was right in front of Peridot's - "Do you have any wishes? They are cheap!"

The young scientist's throat pretty much closed itself and she was only able to shake her head. She didn't want to make any kind of deal with this beast.

\- "Really?" - he moved his head up to face the nymph - "What about you?"

\- "I'll pass" - she said after clearing her throat.

Chort backed away once again. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at them with disgust and disappointment. His form got a little bit smaller and his belly shrunk considerably.

\- "Are you serious?" - he asked with a tired voice - "I can give you anything! Wealth! Love! Power! Knowledge! I can give back whatever you lost! Magical items! Fame!" - both the researcher and the nymph just looked at him with their eyes wide open and their faces pale - "No fucking ambition! What the fucking hell is wrong with today's kids?!"

Before the pair could react in any way, Chort took a big breath and blew at them. A blast of stinky air hit their faces, making them close their eyes. When they could finally open them, they were standing in front of the kurgan. The gate was closed shut and the inside was completely dark.

Peridot just fell on her knees and puked out all the berries she ate on the way here. She cleaned her face with a handful of grass after that.

\- "Why wasn't he wearing any pants?" - she asked in a pained voice.

\- "I need a bath" - the nymph said. She also needed to throw away all the berries she managed to collect before. They were all rotten.

* * *

'This is… a bad sign.'

Experimentally, the baroness scratched her desk. Her newly grown nails left a visible marks. It was also pretty much impossible to cut them. She broke a nail cutter when she tried. There was also a problem with her skin itching like crazy. Especially around her neck, on her legs, face and back.

Worried and angry, Jasper once again called for a doctor. She also ordered her servant to bring something she could scratch her back with. It turned out to be a small four-fingered wooden hand on a stick which normally would be hilarious but this time it only made her angrier. She didn't break it, though. Instead, she took off her shirt, sat on the bed and started scratching.

It didn't change much.

\- "Good evening, baroness" - doctor Priyanka once again entered her room. She was breathing heavily. Navy probably made her run all the way from the village - "What appears to… um…"

\- "Um what?" - the giant woman thrown the scratching devine aside. It landed on the floor with a rattle.

\- "Your… um…" - the doctor unconsciously touched her cheek.

The baroness instantly mirrored the gesture and froze in place. She could feel the short hair on her cheek and her jawline. There was some under her chin, on her throat and even on her chest. She started sweating.

\- "Could you try…?"

\- "The healing magic? Of course!" - the doctor unpacked her gear and hurried over to her patient. Without hesitation, she put her hands on Jasper's body and started muttering the formula.

This time there was no energy flowing through her body. There was no warmth. Only paralyzing pain in her skull. Like if there was something that wanted to break out. To crush the bone from the inside, rip the skin and jump out.

Without really thinking, the baroness swung her arm at the woman. She got thrown away like a rag doll and hit the floor with a painful sound. She laid there for a minute before slowly rising to her knees. When she turned to send her patient a terrified look, her face was covered with blood. Four gashes cut open her cheek, messed up her nose and turned one of her eyes into mush. White bone was visible amidst the gory mess.

Priyanka tried to scream for help or just to express her pain but she choked on all the blood that was flowing into her mouth and started to cough. For a second she thought about using the gloves to stop the blood but she couldn't talk clearly enough to do that. She crawled towards the desk and used it to stand up. Searching for her bag while being half-blind was harder than she thought it would be.

\- "What the fuck was that?" - Jasper snarled as she catched the doctor by her neck - "Are you trying to fucking kill me?" - she started to clench her fingers around the smaller woman's throat.

She clearly underestimated her own strength, though, as instead of an answer she only got an audible crack. The doctor's body went limp.

* * *

The night was weirdly quiet as the group of individuals in working clothes marched through the field. They brought shovels and their expressions were grim. With only the moon as a source of light, they soon arrived at the balk that separated the fields and the forest.

\- "You really think that this is a good idea?" - asked the one who walked on the front of the group as he turned towards his comrades.

\- "This is what gramps said we should do when something like that happens" - answered someone else.

\- "But… Don't you think it'd be too much?" - the first man didn't let it go.

\- "We decided it was okay when this wench was fucking some beastly filth" - another voice answered. He was older than previous speakers - "All this hunting was good too. But now she killed one of us in the name of her own cause. We can't leave something like that unpunished."

There were no objections anymore. They just started digging and didn't stop until they found what they were looking for. A wooden totem-like statue that looked far too new for something that spent so much time underground. It depicted a creature without eyes sitting on a throne that was supported by four human-looking figures.

The older man who earlier ended the discussion dropped his shovel and stood on the edge of the hole they had managed to dig up. From under his belt, he pulled out a short, sharp piece of metal that probably shouldn't be called a knife. He then proceeded to cut his palm. The dark, thick blood that dripped down on the statue disappeared instantly.

Behind the trees, in the shadows, something moved.

 **I hope you liked this chapter. I should have probably posted it earlier but I wanted to finish the next one. I can't tell when the next update will happen because my motivation is really low right now. Wish me luck and review the story if you want to help me a little bit.**

 **As for reviews, there were two.**

 **Guest named "Ty": Well... that happened next. I'm glad you're thinking it's getting good.**

 **Happyismydog: I'm happy to hear that you like my story so much. I'm planning to finish it, so don't worry. It may take a while, though...**

 **And as per usual, I would like to thank G. M. Keyes for beta reading this story.**

 **~MS**


	5. 5: Pants-stealing devil

5\. Pants-stealing devil

The bonfire in the middle of a circle made of stone burned brightly, illuminating two dried logs, a bunch of damp clothes and a naked form of a girl. She sat against this old, fallen tree, with her knees under her chin. In her hands she held a sketchbook and a slightly sharpened piece of charcoal.

The young researcher just finished another drawing of a drowner and completed a bunch of notes about this beast's kin. Being done with that, she moved on to sketch Chort, the monster she had encountered the day before. She shuddered remembering how disturbing this monster was and how disgustingly he smelled. If she and Lapis didn't take a bath after coming back, she probably would've had a harder time calming down.

Before they just jumped into the pond, their new base of operations, they needed to deal with some things, though. When they were away someone or something brought four long pieces of a dried log. They were arranged in random-looking pattern and it took a lot of time and effort to rearrange them so they would be of any use. In the end, two of them turned into seats and the other two into borders of a makeshift bed. The rest of the evening was filled with building a bonfire and gathering dry sticks and branches both for fuel and for the bed.

Thankfully, the outcome was fully worth all the work. This camp they built was the most comfortable place they stayed in since they first met each other. Peridot could finally wash herself and clean her sweaty clothes while still being able to dry herself off before going to sleep. Although sitting naked just a few meters away from a bathing nymph felt pretty awkward.

Speaking of the nyph… After completing the drawing of Chort's ugly mug, the scientist turned a few pages and half-consciously started to draw her slim, muscular body while half-knowingly staring at the woman-like creature from her warm spot next to the fire. She was doing that pretty often lately and she didn't really know why. Her first and only guess was professional interest but she wasn't quite sure about that.

Maybe she just found the nymph beautiful? She pulled the charcoal away from the page and looked at her drawing with pleased expression on her face. It turned out pretty nice and she was rather proud of it. She was able to capture the nymph's features nearly…

\- "What are you drawing?" - she heard a familiar voice from above. A few water droplets fell on her face when she looked up - "That looks really pretty but it's kinda different from how you usually draw" - the nymph's eyes were focused on the freshly filled page.

\- "I tried to be… less sciencey about this one…" - Peridot muttered - "I wanted to capture more than just your looks."

\- "I can see that. You sketched the water too" - she pointed at the picture. After a moment, she straightened up and stretched her limbs while yawning.

\- "Are you going to sit down and dry a little?" - the researcher asked trying to not look at her companion. She clearly didn't mind but for someone raised in strict environment the entire situation was awkward at best.

\- "Do I have to?" - she whined. It caught the scientist a little off-guard but she wasn't planning to just give up.

\- "I don't want you going to sleep all wet" - Peridot said. When she thought about it for a second, she decided that it probably didn't make any sense - "It would… It would be weird."

\- "Okay, if you insist" - Lapis laughed before sitting on the log right next to the girl. She stretched her legs a bit.

It was nearly too much for the poor researcher who started to blush like crazy. Thankfully, it was barely visible in the warm light of the fire.

\- "We need to get some more clothes for me…" - she said after a few minutes of silence - "And maybe a blanket or at least a bedsheet or something like that."

\- "Why?"

\- "I just don't want to end up half-naked. What if my clothes got really dirty? Or wet? Or all torn up?" - she explained - "The blanket would be really useful on colder nights."

\- "Do you have any ideas on how to get those?" - Lapis asked. She looked at the small frame of her companion. Her blonde hair were still pretty damp and a bit less messy than usual.

\- "The village, I guess?" - the young scientist shrugged - "Though, we would need to go there at night because I don't want to get caught by the guards or something."

\- "We can go near the edge of the forest and check out how to do that tomorrow" - the nymph said after a small nod - "Maybe we will find something interesting on our way?" - she smiled brightly. Getting close to the settlement was even more dangerous for her but she didn't really care. Her life was pleasantly busy since she met this weird girl and she wasn't about to just abandon her.

\- "That sounds like a plan…" - she nodded and picked up her sketchbook - "I think we should go to sleep."

Since Lapis wasn't planning on doing anything else this evening, she agreed and quickly put on her dress before sitting down on a log to watch her companion. She found herself pretty interested in humans lately, despite seeing quite a lot of them in her life. This was mainly because the young researcher was quite unusual both in appearance and in behaviour. She was, after all, educated and friendly to non-human creatures. And she never even tried to force the nymph to do something against her will which was probably the most important.

They went to sleep less than ten minutes later. Before laying on the pile of sticks and moss, they first doused the bonfire with water from the pond. After all, they were in the middle of the forest.

* * *

No matter how hard she tried, the sea was out of her reach. She could only look at the infinity of blue and listen to the waves as her every little movement made the chains around her wrists dig deeper into her skin. For every step of hers, something pulled her backwards. The harder she fought, the more restrained she was.

But she couldn't stop. She couldn't give up. The sea was calling her. She wanted to jump in and be free. To go back to the life she had before. And because of that, she didn't stop fighting for even a second. Pulling, jumping, thrashing around and finally falling on her knees and crawling forward with all her might, she managed to get to the cold, wet sand, despite feeling like her hands were going to be torn off.

She got snatched back before she could even touch the water.

The landing was unexpectedly rough. Instead of sand, there was stone floor. She felt like if someone was beating her for last few hours - every single muscle and tendon in her body was pulsating with blinding pain and her bones were like red-hot metal rods. She could barely breathe let alone moving. There was literally nothing she could do beside laying on the floor motionless.

Suffering.

Listening.

Waiting.

She couldn't even imagine the situation getting worse until she heard footsteps. They were loud and they were getting closer and closer with every second.

A strong hand grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up like a rag doll.

* * *

Peridot woke up in the middle of the night. Or rather someone woke her up. With a lot of mumbling, groans and restless shifting. For a few minutes she tried to fall asleep but it didn't work. She spend another few minutes collecting her thoughts while staring at a log that she was laying right next to.

She finally decided to wake up her companion. She deduced that the nymph was probably having nightmares since this was the first time she acted like that while sleeping. After sitting up and stretching a bit, she looked at Lapis just to instantly freeze in place.

Right there, less than twenty centimeters from her face, kneeling on the top of her companion's chest was something. Hunched over, ashy skinned thing with small, pointed ears and rather androgynous appearance. Its legs were slightly longer than normal compared to its torso and its arms, while of normal length, were armed with sharp claws. Its face looked like face of a sculpture made by some common stonemason rather than an artist. Right above its forehead there was a mass of something that looked like hair but had the same colour as the skin, weird texture and were growing into the back of its skull. The weirdest thing about this creature was the fact that its body was partially translucent.

Despite the researcher's movement and all the noise it caused, the monster's gaze was completely focused on the nymph's head. Its empty, black eyes moving as if it looked for something. At some point, its narrow lips parted, revealing a long, pointy tongue and an unexpected lack of teeth.

That was a little too much for the young scientist. Raising up to her knees, she took a swing and slammed her tiny fist right into creature's rough face.

\- "Leave my friend alone!" - she screamed dramatically hoping to wake up the nymph.

Unfortunately, it didn't do much. Peridot's fist didn't hurt at all which was unexpected but the monster was completely unmoved. It didn't even look at its attacker. Instead of that, it focused its gaze on one point on the nymph's neck and pressed its sharp claw on her pale blue skin. The scientist gasped when a few drops of dark blood rolled down her companion's neck.

Without hesitation but nearly tripping on the makeshift bed, the girl jumped up and went running towards her bag. Ignoring the cold that was radiating from the ground and the chilly breath of the summer night that was filling her lungs, she reached her things and quickly searched for her sword. Pulling it out of its sheath proven to be pretty difficult with hands as shaky as her were but she somehow managed to do it without hurting herself.

She nearly dropped her weapon when she looked back at Lapis. The beast was now sucking at the previously created wound while the nymph was still asleep. Somehow, all the fear that was accompanying Peridot until now just disappeared. The way the monster was holding Lapis down just made her so furious. This new, weird anger filled her mind completely as she charged at the creature. A wide, horizontal cut connected with the top of the gray skull, sliced through it and lodged itself into the middle of the ashy, translucent back.

Or at least it seemed like it.

If that was a human being, the sword would probably stop on the skull as the researcher lacked the strength to cut through or shatter the bone. Even if it somehow did penetrate the skull, the blow would be most likely lethal. Hell, even the blow to the back would probably be pretty nasty.

But despite all of that, the monster seemed to be alright. Treating the blade as if it was air, it jumped back on its long legs. For the first time, it looked straight at Peridot. Its eyes were dark and empty but its expression was clearly hostile. For some reason it didn't attack, though. Instead, in a blink of an eye, it changed into a marten and disappeared between the trees.

The researcher dropped her sword and panted heavily. Confused, she let her anger slowly go away while she wondered what in the name of Diamonds just happened. She would probably just stand there for a while but a weak groan forced her to stop resting. Without wasting a second, she rushed to her companion and kneeled down at her side. The nymph was slightly more pale than usual and there was a small wound on the side of her throat. She slowly raised on her hands.

\- "What happened?" - she asked, her voice feeble - "I feel kinda dizzy…"

Peridot didn't answer. Instead, she hugged her waist, making her fall back on the makeshift bed. She was really happy that Lapis seemed alright. After all - what would she do without a companion like her?

\- "Ouch…" - the nymph groaned quietly but quickly returned the embrace - "Seriously, though. What happened?"

It took maybe five minutes for the researcher to tell the entire story. Lapis patiently listened the entire time. Partially because she was interested but mostly because she was too tired to think of anything to ask about. She was also a little bit confused about a few memories that she couldn't quite remember.

\- "So… What do you think was that?" - the young scientist asked after finishing her story.

\- "A mare, I guess…" - she said weakly.

\- "A mare? Like a night-mare?" - Peridot could swear that she read about that somewhere. Probably in a book from some noble's private collection since according to the law, mares never existed. That meant mainly that nobody bothered to print such books anymore and that most of libraries got rid of them long ago. It would probably make her really worried about the future of her own book but something way more important distracted her - "Are you okay?" - she asked. Lapis was clearly having a rather bad time. She was visibly upset - Did you have a nightmare? - her companion only nodded - "Do you want to talk about it?"

\- "No…" - she said while shaking her head.

Left without any better ideas, the researcher just hugged the nymph closer. Soon, they both fell asleep.

* * *

A loud yawn greeted the rising sun with a small steam cloud that quickly disappeared in the cold air of the morning. The rooster from nearby village just finished its crowing and the only people that were awake were the hard-working villagers and one of the baroness' elite soldiers.

While for most of the peasants that was completely normal, Jasper's handpicked thugs weren't expected to be such an early birds. They were always eating meals with their boss so they just needed to wake up when she did. Unfortunately, sometimes there were matters far more important than a comfortable sleep schedule.

Matters like getting rid of a dead licensed healer - the only person in both village and the castle that could legally use magic and magical items. Imagining the reaction of everyone to the news of this woman's demise was truly frightening. Will there be an uprising of peasants? Will the soldiers rebell?

No… they were too afraid of the baroness.

But the village dwellers might get some funny ideas. It may end up bloody. Additionally, if a lot of peasants died, there wouldn't be enough people to make food.

The short woman sighed as she entered the main gate. She really needed to somehow cover up last night's events. Maybe a monster attack? Bandits attack? An unfortunate accident? 'That sounds way too suspicious…' she thought.

She was able to cross the courtyard without being disturbed. It seemed that all the guards were still asleep. 'Lazy bastards' she took a mental note that she will need to make the soldiers work a little harder - she felt a little bit uneasy that in such a busy time the castle was left unguarded.

Thinking about all those things to do, she arrived at her destination - the baroness' room. She then got a key out of her pocket and silently opened the door. Opening it gently, she peeked inside, wishing to see her master.

The giant woman wasn't on her bed. She was lying in the middle of the cold, stone floor, curled up.

Navy clenched her fist and closed the door.

* * *

\- "Hey."

Something small, cold and wet hit her cheek. And then again. And again. Then it moved down her face, side of her neck and slipped off its back. She opened her eyes slightly, ready for a least some sunlight to blind her but she didn't find any. There was only a neat, blueish oval of a face and a bunch of hair, heavy from moisture, swinging in front of her nose.

\- "Wake up" - the blue lips moved slightly, briefly flashing rows of white teeth and a tip of a nearly purple tongue.

\- "I think that I was just lying with my eyes closed for the entire night…" - Peridot said slowly. She could feel the warm breath of the nymph on her skin.

What she said was kind of true. Since the attack, she was constantly waking up, not being able to catch a lot of sleep. The fact that something sinister could just sneak into their camp and harm them made her really anxious.

\- "What do you want for breakfast?" - asked Lapis before standing up and stretching. Her naked form made the young scientist slightly uncomfortable. She wondered if her companion ever felt ashamed of her lack of clothing because she sure didn't seem like it.

\- "What are my options?"

\- "Berries" - the blueish woman grinned.

Peridot groaned quietly and sat up. Despite not sleeping through the night, she didn't really feel that tired. For now at least. It was highly probable that she will be exhausted in no time. But before that, she needed to at least take care of all the morning routines. She took her clothes and went towards the pond while snacking on some berries.

After a while both girls were dressed and read to go. They once again discussed their plans for the day and decided to go to the forest's edge and spy on the villagers. They hoped that it would help them with planning a supply raid.

The trip to the wood's edge was fairly uneventful. Even near the village, there was no one wandering the forest. Lapis wondered if something happened to the local forester since he should probably be hunting yet was nowhere to be seen. Only visible people were working on the fields that separated the forest from a bunch of small, grayish buildings that probably were a lot more white in the past.

\- "It's further away than I remembered" - Peridot peeked out of the bushes - "Though, it was dark back then…"

\- "Running there will be pretty scary" - the nymph sounded rather absent-minded.

\- "Before running, sure" - she nodded - "But when you are already in motion? You're just running and nothing else matters. Your fear would actually give you a boost."

\- "Really?"

\- "Yeah. One of my teachers said that when humans are scared, their bodies might get better at running away or fighting" - the researcher looked back at her companion - "Or you'd just start trembling with fear. Nobody knows why."

\- "Huh... Does nymphs work like that too?" - Lapis asked, suddenly a lot more lively.

\- "Uhh… Right…" - she remembered that her friend happened to not be a human - "I don't know. Have you ever felt like that? Like if your strength got boosted when you were in danger?"

\- "I guess…"

\- "Then we might be similar in that aspect" - the young scientist smiled sweetly before turning back towards the village - "Hey! Look there!"

She pointed a finger at one of the buildings on the left side of the settlement. Someone just came out of it and started hanging clothes and bed sheets on a drying rope of some sorts. White pieces of cloth were moving a little, pushed by the wind.

\- "You think it's gonna stay like that through the night?" - the nymph raised an eyebrow.

\- "I hope so!" - Peridot said with determination after hiding behind the bushes once again - "I mean… the nights are pretty warm around here…"

\- "Well… They might be afraid that someone will steal their things" - Lapis smirked.

\- "Worst case scenario, I'll go into their home while they sleep" - the young woman was determined to get some clothes she could sleep in or use when her own would got dirty or damaged.

For a while the two girls just sat behind the plants, constantly peeking out to observe the village and bantering silently. The noon was getting close and it was getting pretty warm. The gentle wind was chasing a bunch of small cumulus clouds over the heads of working peasants.

\- "Do you have any plans on how to spend time between now and the sunset?" - the nymph asked. She was getting restless and really wanted to do something.

\- "Umm…" - the researcher scratched her chin - "We can…"

She didn't finish her sentence because suddenly something jumped into the forest while making an awful lot of ruckus. Bushes were rustling, random sticks were getting loudly smashed and a weird, goat-like voice was swearing like a sailor.

\- "What the hell?!" - the half-human figure stumbled a few meters away from them - "Who the fuck even does that? Disgusting! Absolutely atrocious!" - the creature loudly expectorated and spat on the forest bedding. Peridot cringed a little. This situation somehow reminded her of her time at the university.

The young scientist send a questioning look towards her companion. Lapis only shrugged in response. While rude, the newcomer wasn't looking very dangerous. On the other hand, it was the first time the nymph ever seen this guy so her expertise was rather questionable. Peridot didn't know better, though, and proceeded with a greeting protocol.

\- "Um… Hello?" - she said while slowly rising from her hiding place. The creature noticed her immediately and its human face froze in terror.

It was wearing a simple vest that barely covered its slim abdomen and chest while not covering its fur covered legs at all. Said legs didn't look human in the slightest. Being some sort of a caricature of goat's legs, they bended in two places and ended with a hoof. The head also had some inhuman elements. Two stumpy horns were sticking out from the ruffled, brown hair and a pair of long, floppy ears were hanging from its face's sides. The sight of a human-like physiognomy without familiar round ears was quite bizarre.

\- "I was… I mean… I wasn't…" - the creature uttered while looking like it was about to start choking on its own tongue - "Are you from the village?"

\- "No?" - the confused scientist answered - "I kinda live in the forest right now…"

\- "Oh thank fuck!" - it nearly dropped a bottle of wine it was hiding behind its back. The relief was probably caused more by the presence of the nymph who just peeked out from the bushes than by the human's answer - "What were you doing down there?" - it raised its eyebrow.

\- "Spying on the village" - the researcher stated without a moment of hesitation. Lapis didn't say anything. She was too busy coughing and trying not to laugh at the same time - "Are you okay?"

\- "Yeah…" - her eyes were full of tears, corners of her mouth curled up. She tried not to look at her companion.

\- "What for?" - it asked before opening the bottle and sniffing its contents - "I'm Knesmug by the way. What're your names?"

\- "I'm Peridot and this is Lapis" - she pointed at her blueish friend - "We need to steal some clothes" - she decided that it was probably safe to say in such company. As far as she knew, fauns weren't usually against such immoral practices. She also hoped that she guessed the creature's species correctly.

\- "Don't bother" - the faun cringed - "Those clothes are probably soiled. Like everything. Even this wine sucks. They fucked everything up again…"

\- "What do you mean?" - the nymph asked after finally collecting herself.

\- "They did something" - he winced - "Now everything around there smells and sticks to your fur like fucking honey" - he once again spat on the ground. The researcher was pretty sure that he managed to hit the same exact place - "But back to you, lass. Do you plan on sneaking into their homes in the night or something?"

\- "I… um… I thought that maybe somebody would leave their laundry on the drying rope…" - the scientist looked at her shoes.

\- "Well, they definitely won't" - he laughed and took a big sip from the bottle. He gagged for a while before continuing - "Fuckers ain't that stupid…"

\- "So I'll…"

\- "But!" - he cut her off - "But what if they forgot to hide it? You see, I can help them out a little in forgetting to do something like that."

Both girls stared at him for a few moments. They both still remembered the encounter with the Chort.

\- "Would you really do something like that for free?" - Lapis asked slowly.

Knesmug grinned and throw the half-full bottle away.

\- "This wine was awful" - he sticked out his long, cherry-coloured tongue - "And I'm a very spiteful creature."

* * *

\- "You think it's gonna work?" - Peridot finished packing her notebook into her bag. After spending pretty much the entire day in the company of a faun she wasn't sure about him being able to do anything, let alone something paranormal. He wasn't completely useless, though. He managed to remind them about the summer solstice that was supposed to happen on the very next day and informed them about changes in the villagers' behaviour. They were way more nervous than normallyl and apparently it was caused by whatever the village dwellers did that was irritating Knesmug so much.

\- "No idea" - the nymph answered - "It's the first time I've ever seen this guy."

\- "Well… I hope it will" - the researcher took a deep breath - "I don't want to go there to find nothing."

\- "You really want to go there alone?" - Lapis asked for a fourth time.

\- "Yes. And yes, I'm sure" - she smiled - "If you stay here, you'll be able to come and rescue me if something bad happens" - that was only partially true. The young scientist decided to by herself mostly because she was concerned about her companion. The nymph seemed rather uneasy when they talked about this entire operation earlier. She figured that her companion might have been afraid of humans.

\- "Okay… But be careful out there! I heard that if they catch somebody stealing something, they'll cut the thief's hands off" - Lapis warned her.

\- "They won't catch me" - the researcher grinned and put her bag into her companion's hands - "Hold onto that for me, please. I won't take long."

After saying that, the girl peeked out of the bushes and looked at the settlement. The last lights were long gone and only the half-moon and thousands of stars were keeping the area from being completely hidden in the darkness. A bunch of white shapes right next to one of the buildings showed that the faun wasn't lying.

Peridot smiled to herself, feeling more nervous than ever, and jumped out of her hiding. The fall was a little bit longer than she anticipated but she managed to safely land right next to the wall of wheat. It was high enough to tickle her belly but it wasn't going to stop her. Without hesitation, she run into the field and towards the left side of the village.

Running through the farmland was hard and exhausting. She nearly tripped on the unnaturally shaped ground and the night critters moving beneath her feet made her heartbeat faster. This trip soon turned out to be uncomfortably long. At some point she even had a feeling that her destination was getting further and further away with her every single step.

Thankfully it was only an illusion. A figment of imagination created by a stressed out brian. She managed to calm down a bit after arriving at the village's hedges.

Looking around, she realised that it was the first time she was seeing the crooked buildings from such a short distance. The settlement was old and ugly. The grayish plaster was crumbling away, the straw roofs were in an awful condition and the paths between the buildings were muddy despite of a rather dry season. Random little benches were littering spaces in front of pretty much every homestead and the fences were in no condition to protect anything.

Soon, she noticed the building with the drying rope and started walking in its direction. It was no bigger or better looking than any other. There was a bench on the right side of its doors and a small shed-like structure used to store the firewood on its right side. The shed's doors were partially opened, revealing that it was halfway filled with wood. The researcher was pretty sure that she could easily fit in the remaining space and still close the doors if such a necessity appeared.

Leaving all the frightening thoughts about getting caught, she cautiously walked towards the drying rope. There wasn't a lot to choose from and all the laundry was covered in stitches and patches but she wasn't really in a position to criticize. Starting with two large bedsheets, she completed her crime. She took some trousers, two linen shirts and a neatly decorated dress, folded them nicely and wrapped them in the sheets.

With the stolen goods held closely to her chest, she started to make her way back but suddenly something caught her attention. A sound of slow steps, mucking of the mud. Something was coming from the village and Peridot didn't waste a second.

Being way too far from the field, she jumped towards the shed, opened it and climbed on the pile of wood. Somehow, she managed to not make a lot of noise and not destabilize the pile too badly. She closed the door, leaving only a small gap and waited in silence, her prize pressed against her mouth.

The steps grew closer and soon drowned out the noise of the researcher's heartbeat. Anxiously, Peridot leaned towards the slit and tried to see something in the darkness before silently gasping.

There was a monster outside of her hiding.

It had a rather slim and short body, covered in a woman's clothing. Its face was partially covered by a shawl but the researcher could still see its long horns, dog-like ears and a beak-like structure sticking out of its face. The creature was walking on a pair of hen's legs, yet its hands were surprisingly human-like.

Despite being quite small, the monster had an aura of malice. It definitely wasn't there to steal some trinkets or piss into the well. Stealing dreams and drinking blood was way more plausible. Or taking children away. Peridot wondered if she could be counted as a child since she didn't really see herself as an adult.

Thankfully, she wasn't able to test that - the monster didn't linger in front of the shed for too long. The noise of its steps got quieter and soon completely disappeared into the silent night. Only a barely audible sound of doors being opened and closed acted as an answer to an unasked question: where did the monster go?

The young scientist, trembling with fear, opened the shed and carefully jumped down from her hiding place. Feeling a giant lump in her throat and her heart trying to free itself from her chest, she started running towards the fields. After easily jumping over a fence, she landed waist-deep in wheat. This time she was able to completely ignore all the little creatures squirming under her feet.

They weren't as scary as the hundreds of inhuman eyes that were glued to her back for the entire time she was running through the farmlands.

Somehow, in her blind escape, she was able to find the place when she had left Lapis. After jumping into those familiar bushes, she immediately dropped her loot and fell into arms of the confused nymph, tears crawling down her cheeks. It was probably the first time she cried out of fear in her officially adult life.

\- "Are you okay?" - the blueish woman sounded genuinely concerned. She put her hands on Peridot's shoulders and looked at her closely - "Did something happen?"

\- "There… There was a monster…" - she sobbed - "And it w-went into the bu… building. And… And then I ran but there w-was something lu… looking at me…"

Lapis nervously peeked out of the bush and quickly scanned the farmland but she didn't see any movement. She hugged her companion closely.

\- "Calm down" - she whispered to the girl's ear - "There's nothing out there, you are safe."

At least they didn't slept directly on a bunch of branches and pieces of moss that night.

 **Well... that was an awfully long break. Sorry for that. Now, though, I'll have more time to write since the lectures and exams on my university mostly ended and my graphics card died.**

 **I hope you liked this chapter - share your thoughts and opinions in a review. The next one will be ready "soon".**

 **~MS**


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